Cooking for two

No turning oven on for chickpea salad

Chickpea Deli Salad
Chickpea Deli Salad

As the weather continues to heat up, I continue to feel less inclined to turn on the oven.

This recipe from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl+Spoon Simple and Inspired Whole Foods Recipes to Savor and Share by Sara Forte is hearty enough to serve for lunch or dinner and comes together quickly, but best of all, it can be prepared without ever stepping near the stove.

Forte writes that the salad is best made with cooked-from-scratch chickpeas, but gives the option of using canned. However, she suggests peeling (!) canned beans to improve the texture. That was more work than I wanted to do, so I skipped the tedious step. Next time, I might even take my laziness a step further and get beans from the salad/food bar at my neighborhood grocery store. I might also double the recipe to have extra in the fridge for later in the week.

If you want to increase the protein (i.e., add some meat), tuna or roasted chicken would be delicious.

Chickpea Deli Salad

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and ground black pepper

2 to 3 ribs celery, finely diced

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 cups cooked chickpeas OR 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and thoroughly drained

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 1/2 ounces crumbled feta, optional

Crackers or pita, for serving

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Add the celery, red onion and raisins and mix well.

Coarsely chop the chickpeas and add them to the bowl, along with the parsley and chives. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to several days.

Serve with crumbled feta and crackers.

Makes 2 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl+Spoon Simple and Inspired Whole Food Recipes to Savor and Share by Sara Forte

Food on 05/27/2015

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