Chickpea Salad

This chickpea salad takes ten minutes of chopping and zero cooking, because the chickpeas do the heavy lifting. The trick is marinating them first. On their own they’re bland and thirsty, give them olive oil, garlic and parsley for ten minutes and they carry the whole salad.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

Marinated chickpeas

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• A handful of parsley, chopped
• Peperoncino flakes, to taste
• Salt and black pepper

Salad

• 1 cucumber
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 red onion
• 2 meaty tomatoes
• 250 g feta, cubed
• A splash of apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

HOW TO MAKE CHICKPEA SALAD:

1. Marinate the chickpeas. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then mix with the olive oil, grated garlic, parsley, peperoncino, salt and pepper. Let them sit 10 minutes.

2. Chop the vegetables. Cucumber, bell pepper, red onion and tomatoes, all cut to roughly chickpea size so every spoonful gets a bit of everything.

3. Combine. Tip the marinated chickpeas over the vegetables, add a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Fold gently.

4. Feta last. Add the cubed feta at the very end and fold once or twice, any earlier and it breaks up into paste.

Taste before serving. It usually wants more pepper and another splash of vinegar.

Tips and twists

Rinse the chickpeas properly. That cloudy tin liquid is what makes chickpea salads taste tinny. Pat them dry, too dry chickpeas soak up the marinade better.

Tame the onion. If raw red onion is too sharp, soak the diced pieces in cold water for 5 minutes and drain. Bite gone, crunch intact.

Lemon instead of vinegar for a brighter, softer version. Or use both.

Mint or dill instead of parsley takes it somewhere more summery.

Make it a full dinner: stir through cooked couscous, bulgur or orzo. Same marinade, double the portions.

Warm version: roast the drained chickpeas at 200 °C for 20 minutes until they crackle, then marinate while still warm.

Storing it

Airtight container in the fridge, 3 days. The cucumber softens after day one but the flavour improves. Making it ahead on purpose? Hold back the cucumber and fold it in just before serving.

Chickpea Salad

This chickpea salad takes ten minutes of chopping and zero cooking, because the chickpeas do the heavy lifting. The trick is marinating them first. On their own they're bland and thirsty, give them olive oil, garlic and parsley for ten minutes and they carry the whole salad.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 can of chickpeas drained
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove grated
• A handful of parsley chopped
• Peperoncino flakes to taste
• Salt and black pepper

Salad

• 1 cucumber
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 2 meaty tomatoes
• 250 g feta cubed
• Splash of apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

 

1. Marinate the chickpeas. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then mix with the olive oil, grated garlic, parsley, peperoncino, salt and pepper. Let them sit 10 minutes.
2. Chop the vegetables. Cucumber, bell pepper, red onion and tomatoes, all cut to roughly chickpea size so every spoonful gets a bit of everything.
3. Combine. Tip the marinated chickpeas over the vegetables, add a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Fold gently.
4. Feta last. Add the cubed feta at the very end and fold once or twice, any earlier and it breaks up into paste.

Notes

Taste before serving. It usually wants more pepper and another splash of vinegar.