Everyday Chickpea Salad
Makes 4 servings
(Recipe adapted from Appetite for Reduction, by Isa Moskowitz)
For the salad:
- 2 cups Israeli couscous cooked & cooled
- 1 small red onion, thinly chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1-15oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
- 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 pepper, sliced (I used 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow)
In a large mixing bowl, mix all the salad ingredients together. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Keep chilled in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. (It didn’t last a whole day at my house)
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup cashew pieces
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- a few pinches of freshly ground pepper
Place the cashew pieces & shallot in a food processor and pulse until totally chopped. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend for at least 5 minutes, and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. Blend until completely smooth.
Shutterbean Notes:
-Original recipe calls for quinoa instead of couscous. Romaine lettuce instead of spinach. Als0- the cucumber & peppers were my addition.
-Next time I’m going to cut the peppers & cucumbers into smaller chunks, roughly the same size as chickpeas. Would have made eating the salad a *little* bit easier!
-Other possible fixins: avocado, sprouts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, roasted bell pepper, artichoke hearts…whatever your heart desires!