Mediterranean chickpea salad
Mediterranean chickpea salad with cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, feta and olives in a lemon-oregano dressing. No lettuce, so it keeps for days, with 10 g of fiber a serving.
- 365
- kcal
- 13g
- protein
- 20g
- fat
- 36g
- carbs
- Prep
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 small clove garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 1 pint (10 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup (35 g) Kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup (75 g) crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- Black pepper
Method
-
1
Make the dressing
Whisk the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano and salt together in a large bowl.
-
2
Marinate the onion and chickpeas
Add the red onion and chickpeas, toss, and leave 10 minutes. The acid softens the onion and the chickpeas soak up the dressing.
-
3
Add the rest
Add the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta and parsley and toss gently.
-
4
Season
Taste and add salt, pepper or another squeeze of lemon. Serve at once or refrigerate.
Why this salad keeps
There is no lettuce. Leafy salads wilt within hours of being dressed, but chickpeas, cucumber, onion and feta hold up for days, and the chickpeas taste better after they have soaked up the dressing. That makes this one of the few salads you can make on Sunday and eat for lunch on Wednesday.
Getting the most out of canned chickpeas
- Rinse them well. The liquid in the can is starchy and salty, and makes the dressing cloudy.
- Dry them. Damp chickpeas dilute the dressing. Shake them in the colander and roll them in a towel.
- Dress them first. Ten minutes alone in the dressing, before the vegetables go in, gives them a lot more flavor. The red onion softens in the acid at the same time and loses its harsh bite.
To cook dried chickpeas instead, you need about 1 1/4 cups dried for the 3 cups of cooked chickpeas in this recipe. Soak overnight and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until tender.
The dense bean salad
A "dense bean salad" is the same idea pushed further: mostly beans, with everything else chopped small enough to get some of everything on each spoonful, and enough protein to be a full meal. To turn this salad into one:
- Add a can of drained white beans or a cup of cooked lentils alongside the chickpeas.
- Dice the cucumber, tomatoes and onion to about the size of a chickpea, and halve the olives.
- Add a protein: 4 oz of diced salami, a cup of shredded chicken, or small balls of mozzarella.
- Double the dressing and leave it to marinate in the fridge for an hour.
Variations
- With quinoa: add 1 cup of cooked, cooled quinoa and an extra tablespoon of oil and vinegar.
- Smashed chickpea salad: mash the chickpeas roughly with a fork, mix with a spoonful of Greek yogurt or mayonnaise, celery and dill, and eat it like tuna salad in a sandwich.
- Vegan: leave out the feta and add a diced avocado just before serving.
- More protein: serve over grilled chicken, or with a couple of hard-boiled eggs.
Keeping it
It keeps 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge. The tomatoes get softer and give off some juice, so for longer storage, add them the day you eat it. Stir before serving and add a squeeze of lemon to wake it up.
What it is worth nutritionally
A main-course serving has about 365 kcal, with 13 g of protein, 20 g of fat and 36 g of carbohydrate, including about 10 g of fiber, a third of a day's recommended amount. Most of the fat is from olive oil, olives and feta. Chickpeas are a good source of folate, iron and plant protein, and the fiber and protein together make it a filling lunch. It is the kind of meal the Mediterranean diet is built on, with legumes as the main protein. As a side dish, it serves 6.
