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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan
Skill Level: Beginner
Yield: 4-6 people as a good-sized side portion
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Equipment Needed:
The Recipe:
This recipe is adapted from a recipe by America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients:
2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas (sometimes called Garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
3 carrots, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1 cup baby arugula, chopped
Procedure:
Empty chickpeas into a colander set in your sink and rinse thoroughly.
Transfer rinsed chickpeas to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until hot, about 1 minute 30 seconds. Warming up the chickpeas will soften them just a bit and help them quickly soak up the vinaigrette.
Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne to the chickpeas and toss gently.
Add carrots and olives, toss to combine.
Add chopped arugula just before serving and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper according to your liking.
To Serve: Serve this light and fresh salad alongside burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, grilled salmon or any of your summer favorites.
Tips:
If you had cannellini beans or even kidney beans in your pantry, I think you could sub them in for the chickpeas.
When grating your carrot, use the largest holes on your box grater and stop grating when there is an inch or so of the carrot left (I used to work with another foods teacher who would say "don't be a hero" to the kids when we were doing things like this, or working with a mandolin-your finger tips are more important than getting every last bit of that carrot shredded, I promise. Plus then you have a little cookin' snack).
If you have a food processor that has a shredding disc, you could also use that to shred your carrots.
If you hate olives, leave them out, but I thought the briny punch of the olive added a really nice contrast to this salad. You could also sub in a different type of olive if you had one handy, but the purple color of the kalamata olives was really pretty in this salad.
If you're not a huge fan of the peppery taste of arugula (I love it!), you could sub in another green like chopped baby spinach, watercress or even chopped baby kale or cabbage.
If you're making this salad in advance, don't add the arugula until you're ready to serve as it does get a little wilty after a bit. I ate leftovers of this salad and I will say some dishes are almost better as leftovers, but this one was definitely best fresh.
The Story:
As you will probably start to notice, I am a HUGE fan of sides, especially at a picnic or BBQ. I am often the person who takes the smallest brat (or maybe only 1/2 of one...) in favor of loading up my plate with all of the delicious sides. Since my youngest loves chickpeas (and they are super good for you, high in protein and fiber and can even lower your cholesterol, who knew?), and I like to have some vegan and gluten-free recipes in my repertoire, this salad seemed like a no-brainer to try alongside our hamburgers on a warm spring evening.
One thing that was AWESOME about this salad was that it came together insanely fast. The only ingredient on the list that I don't always have on hand is arugula, so I can see this salad becoming one of my oh-crap-I-forgot-I-said-I'd-bring-a-side salads, because I could sub in a different green that I had on hand or even omit it all together in a pinch.
The flavors of this salad were fantastic. Light and fresh with the olive oil/lemon juice vinaigrette, peppery arugula, briny olives, sweet carrots...this one has it all!
I think my 2-year old had 3 good-sized servings of this salad, and I had 2. It was a nice side for burgers but would go great alongside ribs, hot dogs, pulled-pork sandwiches or any of your picnic favs.
Happy tasting!
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