Chickpea Salad

I really enjoy a good chickpea salad - firm beans & crunchy vegetables all melding together with a fresh, delightful dressing.  I'm sure you've tried them at buffets, parties, salad bars, always hoping that it's a good one. Quite often though, I feel let down because it's too bland, too vinegary, too salty, too oily. I've made salads at home trying many recipes over the years but never really found one that suited my tastes. So, I took the components I liked and came up with my own.

Lemon gives it a nice fresh flavour. The feta cheese melds nicely with vegetables and kicks it up a notch. I like to toss it with some mixed lettuces making it an easy and delicious way to get more greens into your diet. If you try this, I'd love your feedback. 

Carrie's Chickpea Salad

½ tsp. lemon zest

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1½ tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

¼ salt

freshly ground pepper to taste 

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tomato, seeded and chopped

3 scallions, sliced

5 oz. tub mixed baby greens of your choice

2-3 oz. crumbled feta cheese

Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add parsley, chickpeas, tomato and scallions. Toss to evenly coat with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour - but overnight is preferred. 

To serve, crumble half of the feta into the chickpea mixture and add the greens. Stir gently to distribute the dressing over the greens. Pile onto serving plates and top with remaining feta. 

Serves 4-6 

**You can easily make smaller portions of this. Just scoop out enough chickpea mix for a serving, and mix with greens and cheese in a seperate bowl. The rest of the chickpeas will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.