Thursday, June 25, 2009

Spicy Chickpea Salad

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This is a middle eastern twist on a Rachael Ray recipe. Someone out there just rolled his/her eyes at the mention of her name, but I've been quite happy with the few Rachael Ray recipes that I've tried. I like the original recipe and made it a couple of times. The main complaint that we both had was the addition of raw onions. After 5 minutes into dinner and for the rest of the night, all we'd taste would be raw onions. I like the recipe enough that I thought I'd tweak it and give it even more flavor.
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • a small bunch parsley, coarsely chopped
  • juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
  • salt and pepper to taste
Just toss everything together. Make sure everything is well coated and the spices are evenly distributed so you don't end up with a mouthful of cayenne pepper. Let salad sit at room temperature for 30 minutes for even more flavor.

This salad has rich bold flavors but is refreshing and light. I love the combination of crunchy celery, sweet bell peppers and creamy chickpeas. The best part? No raw onions! Yay for fresh breath.

2 comments:

  1. What?! I love raw onions. Yummy.

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  2. oy, yum! Been looking for a chickpea recipe for eons. This looks doable in 15 minutes! Definitely going on my list

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