Recipe Redeux (New and Improved)

Chickpea Salad

Don't faint. I'm doing two blog posts in one week. I had lunch today with friends and we talked about the salad I made over the weekend. DaddyO and I have been making a conscious effort to make good food choices. More vegetables, Less sweets. You know the drill. This salad is an easy way to add a lot of vegetable to the plate. I've been making it all summer. It's so good. It's easy. It keeps several days in the fridge. It's a good side dish. Or you can have a bowl full for lunch. It's a nearly perfect recipe. 

Doris asked if the recipe was on my blog. I told her yes (and crossed my fingers.) When I got home I looked to see if it was indeed on the blog. Yes, I had posted it in 2019. But boy, has it evolved in those years. It is much more flavorful now.

It's a "recipe" with no measurements. You don't need them. I'll give you the list of ingredients. You can figure out the amounts. Really. You can.

CHICKPEA SALAD

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Cucumbers, diced large

Tomatoes—grape tomatoes, halved or fresh tomatoes, diced

Red onion, diced

Fresh lemon juice

Lemon zest

Fresh parsley, minced

Olive oil

Apple cider vinegar

Dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Crumbled feta

That's it. I didn't measure anything. But I'll give you a clue to what I did. Add cucumbers and tomatoes in amounts about equal to the chickpeas. Red onion, maybe a 1/3 cup. Add just a bit of lemon zest. Squeeze lemon juice over, drizzle with oil (not too much), add a little vinegar. Give it a good sprinkle of oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Add most of an 8-oz container of feta. Stir together. 

Taste and adjust the flavors. More vinegar? More salt? I added a little more oil. When you have the flavor right, cover and refrigerate to let the flavors blend. 

Now from this point, you can make this salad your own. Add olives (which I don't like), diced yellow pepper for more color. Maybe some cubed avocado—but it won't keep as long. Leave out the feta if you don't like it. Substitute cannellini beans for chickpeas. Use avocado oil or canola if you're out of olive oil. Truly. Make it suit your family.

If you one who follows the recipe exactly, this is a perfect place to try making a dish without measuring anything. Be brave.