This Summer Chickpea Salad is a delicious, low-effort dish full of complex and refreshing flavors perfect for the summer!
Given that today is typically considered the “official start” of summer, I thought this was a good time to post this easy to make, refreshing salad that is perfect for the season. This was an idea that I have had for a while and thought it was finally the right time to share.
I love salads because they can be the simplest thing, or they can be extremely complex and offer and wide variety of flavors and options. People always claim salads are too simple or just there to be healthy. Trust me, you can definitely make a salad unhealthy.
There are quite a few ingredients in this recipe, but they bring so many different flavors and layers to really take this dish to the next level. There is a earthliness from the vegetables, a sweetness from the cheese, and vibrancy from the herbs, and that citric kick that I love putting in basically everything.
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
There is an absurd amount of ingredients in this summer chickpea salad, but I think that every bit is absolutely necessary. I believe the core of this recipe is the chickpeas and the cucumbers. But all the other ingredients bring something to the table.
Process
The Dressing
Before getting into preparing the salad, I started by making the dressing for the summer chickpea salad. This is the part of the process that has the one cooking step. I did all the cutting and food prep first because that just makes everything a little simpler. There was more time spent cutting the ingredients than putting the salad together.
To start, I mixed together the olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I did put a little light on the salt and pepper because more can always be added. And since people have different tastes, I was hesitant about making the salad to my taste and making it go too salty.
The cooking portion for this salad is gently toasting the cumin seeds. The seeds were put in the pan for thirty seconds. That’s it. Why so short? Check out the lesson section for more 😊. Then I ground up the seeds and placed them into my dressing mixture.
Summer Chickpea Salad
And now onto the main part of this recipe: the salad itself! Again, the process was very simple. I originally did this in one bowl before transferring it to a serving bowl, but you can just make it directly in a serving bowl as well.
I tossed together the chickpeas, tomatoes, dates, cucumbers, red peppers, and parsley. A gentle touch was needed because I didn’t want to accidentally smoosh the cucumbers or the tomatoes.
Then I drizzled the dressing over the salad and lightly tossed it once again. For the finishing touch, I crumbled some honey goat cheese, and some mint on top! All that’s left is to enjoy!
Reflections
I really like this summer chickpea salad as it feels very fresh and perfect for the summer or just adding some vibrancy to a meal. One of the big positives for me about the salad is adding so much flavor and body without using lettuce. Lettuce feels like the core of most salads but there are options that don’t need it! And that’s just opens up this world up to so many more options!
Lessons
Why Toast?
Toasting seeds before pushing them into a powder can bring more flavor out of the seeds. This can really bring forward a more intense flavor and add that extra depth. If this isn’t something that is wanted, then the seeds can be ground before toasting or ground powder can be used. But I would always argue to toasting the seeds because it just makes the dish that much more special.
recipe
Summer Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 4-5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- 3 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 ¼ Teaspoon Sea Salt
- Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 3 Cup chickpeas drained & rinses
- 1 ½ Cup Cherry Tomatoes halved
- 8 Dates pitted and diced
- 4-5 Cucumbers sliced into thin half moons
- ½ Cup Roasted Red Peppers chopped
- 1/3 Cup Parsley finely chopped
- ½ Cup Honey Goat Cheese
- ⅓ cup mint finely chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and crush. Add to the olive oil mix.
- In a large bowl (Or serving bowl), toss together the chickpeas, tomatoes, dates, cucumbers, red peppers, and parsley.
- Drizzle the olive oil mix over the chickpea mix and lightly toss together.
- Top with goat cheese and mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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