Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

I was excitedly flipping through my new July issue of Martha Stewart Living when I came across a section for bean salads.

(I would have just linked to it, but they still have the June issue online!)



I've been trying to eat healthy these days and I know that I don't get enough protein or fiber...and I had an abundance of veggies in the fridge that I needed to use.

This salad was really easy to throw together! It was also a great way to work on my knife skills because there was a LOT of chopping involved!

Note: chickpeas = garbanzo beans

I used canned chickpeas instead of boiling my own...so drain 2 cans of garbanzo beans and leave them in the sieve/colander to drain.

While those are draining, make the dressing.

Place the garlic (I used the pre-minced, jarred stuff) and salt on the cutting board and flatten the mixture with a knife. (Don't mind the green flecks. That's some parsley that I chopped on the same board)


Run it back and forth like you are smearing it on your cutting board. It will make a paste like this.


Place this in a plastic storage container (big enough for dressing + chickpeas) with the vinegar (I used white wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar), olive oil, oregano, & pepper (I used freshly ground pepper instead of crushed peppercorns. I don't enjoy crunching into a spicy little peppercorn!). Shake vigorously until well-combined.


Throw the chickpeas into the plastic food storage container with the dressing and let them marinate while you are chopping all the other veggies. Give it a shake every few minutes to make sure everything is coated.


Chop the cucumber. Even though it was an English cucumber, which has thinner skin and less watery seed pulp, I scooped out the center so that my salad wouldn't get watery later.




I chopped 1 whole bell pepper because I like it, but the recipe calls for half.


Carrots roughly the same size.


I also added a bit of red onion because I like it.


The whole pint of tomatoes (I used grape, but the recipe calls for cherry). I only cut about half of the tomatoes in half and left the rest whole...which would also help to keep the salad from getting watery.


Roughly chop the parsley.


Slice the green onions on a diagonal.


Chiffenade the basil...doesn't have to be too thin.


Throw it all in a big bowl, add the chickpeas & dressing. Toss until well-combined.


It makes a lot, so it would be great for a get-together.


Isn't this a gorgeous salad?! Super fresh, healthy, crunchy and delicious! Enjoy!


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