Summer’s Delight Mediterranean Chickpea and Vegetable Salad
- A mixture of diced raw vegetables such as bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh raw zucchini, sweet or green onions, carrots and radishes – use a small dice, no larger than ½ inch.
- One or two cans of ready-to-eat chickpeas or garbanzo beans
- Several small handfuls of herbs, chopped fine: try a mixture of parsley, mint, cilantro, oregano, basil, thyme, etc. The idea here is to figure out which combination you like best (I’m very fond of a mix of parsley, basil, cilantro and mint, with just a touch of oregano, which has a strong flavor so less is needed)
- Dressing -Make a simple olive oil and lemon juice dressing: three parts oil to one part freshly-squeezed lemon juice, then add salt and pepper to taste (fresh lemon juice makes a real flavor difference in salads of this sort). You can, of course, substitute vinegar (preferably white wine vinegar) in place of the lemon juice, and it might be a better choice if all you have is bottled lemon juice. Alternately, you can add additional spices to this dressing, such as chili peppers, powdered cumin or coriander seeds, or even a pinch of curry mix. Sometimes I use a Middle-Eastern spice mix called za’atar which adds a lovely flavor. Experiment to find out what pleases you! (I realize I’ve provided no amount of dressing; again, I encourage you to experiment with the amount you prefer; I like my salads somewhat dry but you might want more dressing….)
- Hard boiled eggs, diced or chopped
- 1 head of lettuce, with leaves washed and dried and kept whole
- Mix together all of the diced vegetables, and stir in the chick peas.
- Add the herbs and mix well.
- Add the dressing, and stir thoroughly.
- Allow the salad to sit for about 20 minutes so that the vegetables absorb the dressing and the flavors blend.
- Then, add the eggs (if desired) and stir again (alternately, you can place the eggs on the top of the salad right before serving).
- Finally, plate the salad individually by placing each portion on several whole lettuce leaves or to serve family-style, tear the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and cover a serving plate with them and mound the salad on top.
- If you want to get really fancy you can dust with more chopped herbs. Add a cool slice of fresh melon for dessert and you have a perfect light dinner or lunch dish for these hot hot hot late summer days.
Recipe by Oakmont Farmers Market at https://www.oakmontfarmersmarket.org/2005/07/summers-delight-mediterranean-chickpea-and-vegetable-salad/
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