Thursday, August 14, 2008

Chickpea Salad with Parsley, Lemon and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

OK, so Legume Wednesday is happening on Thursday this week. I have a good excuse for being late though. I got two days off and realized that if I didn't zip up to Michigan to visit some friends and family, then I wouldn't get to see them until after the school semester ended. I'll be in school Monday through Friday and I rarely get a weekend off from frying donuts.

I figure that you don't want to hear about the 6 loaves of bread I brought back from Zingerman's, or how much fun I had sampling cheeses at Morgan and York. How the Queen Geek and I hung out together, or how delicious lunch at Sweet Lorraine's was with my best friend T and her son. And really, did you want a play by play of my stay at my mom's house? I've seen their new vegetable garden they're putting in next year and it looks pretty big. And their cats are crazy as always.

But I'm totally off subject. Let me tell you about tonight's legume dish, Chickpea Salad with Parsley, Lemon, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. I have to admit, when I woke up today it was with a little bit of dread because I had no idea what I was going to post on today. The day started to wear on and my mind kept running because I just was drawing a complete blank on bean dishes. Finally, I sat down with my Bon Appetit cookbook. I knew I wanted a salad. I knew it couldn't involve dried beans because it was already noon. And I wanted something different and tasty. Yowza did I get it! This chickpea salad has the strong sun-dried tomato flavor balanced by some pungent cumin oil and mellowed by the coolness of the cucumber and zing of the lemon juice. It's served at room temperature and with no mayonnaise it would be perfect for a barbecue or a picnic. I think this salad makes a lovely lunch all by itself.

Chickpea Salad with Parsley, Lemon, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 15oz. cans garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed in a garlic press
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Combine oil and cumin seeds in heavy small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Cool completely.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add cumin oil and toss to blend. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

7 comments:

Sara said...

yummy! 1/4 cup of oil sounds like a lot. Did you cut that down any or did it turn out well with that much?

This really does sound like a lovely lunch. I think I might need to go get some sun dried tomatoes!

April said...

I love chickpeas in salads! This looks wonderful!

Deborah said...

I was way into chickpeas awhile back, and bought like a million cans. I still have a lot left, so now I know how to use some of them up!

grace said...

i was breezing through my reader, trying to catch up, and three of my favorite words caught my eye--sun-dried tomatoes. my favorite. this is an excellent use for them, thank you! :)

Emily said...

It looks delicious! I love chickpeas. So nutty...love them. Oh, I already said that.

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to comment on either the Zingerman's or the Sweet Lorraines lunch but I will comment on your folks cats! How much fun that your whole family blogs.

The salad sounds yummy too.

Mary said...

Sara- I thought about cutting it down, but I didn't because I didn't want to change the flavor of the dressing.

April- Me too! And it is!

Deborah- Yeah I think I have 6 more cans in the pantry and I didn't want to give up and just make hummus.

Grace- The sun-dried tomatoes really add a lot to this salad.

Emiline- You will love this salad then!

Mary- It's a pretty fun way for the family to keep tabs on each othe that's for sure!