I first made this for a church extracurricular activity.* I didn’t add the avocado because the salad was going to sit in a cooler for a few hours. Happily, it was a hit even without it. I added avocado to the leftovers at home, and yum, it was even better.
This great vegetarian recipe was adapted from peasandcrayons.com where blogger Jenn focuses on vegetables. I found the seasonings a bit too timid, so I increased most of them and used fresh parsley. Fresh oregano and dill also would be nice. I also increased the dressing a bit. I’ve incorporated my changes.
Greek Chickpea Salad
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped (I used orange and yellow)
1 cup halved grape tomatoes or 1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, more if desired
1 avocado
Easy Mediterranean dressing:
3 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 tbsp. quality extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice (squeezed from 1 large or 2 small lemons)
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. dried crushed oregano
1/2 tsp. salt, extra to taste if desired
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Drain and rinse chickpeas and add to a bowl with the peppers, tomato and cucumber. Stir in feta.
Combine all dressing ingredients in a separate container and either shake or whisk to incorporate. Pour over salad and toss to combine.
Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow flavors to meld.
Peel and chop avocado just before serving, and add to the salad. You can toss it first in a little lemon juice with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent it from browning.
This salad keeps well (except for the avocado).
*We made a little movie the other weekend for a local film festival. It was a great experience, and I got to feed the cast and crew.
This looks really good. You can never go wrong (generally) by kicking up the seasonings – no need to be timid!
This sounds like a great salad and wow, it is tailor made for those of us who are trying to cut down on highly processed carbs!