Chickpea Salad

I love summer salads, and this one does not disappoint. We've eaten it two ways; As a salad (exactly following the recipe) and also as a pita filling, by mixing it with lettuce and grilled chicken. Both were great.

The original recipe is from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Guy Fieri. I used not quite all of the same ingredients, and changed the amounts of everything. My version is below




Click here for printable version of recipe


Chickpea Salad
serves 4


1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 of a jalapeno, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less spicy)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup canned chickpeas - drain and reserve 1 Tbsp of liquid
1/2 cup (mounded) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 Tablespoons minced fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

butter lettuce, romaine or other lettuce, chopped


In a medium sized bowl, combine garlic, jalapeno, red onion, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chickpeas and 1 Tbsp liquid, cherry tomatoes, mint and cilantro. Taste again and add any additional salt and pepper if needed.

You can either toss this mixture with the lettuce now, or serve them separately. I prefer to add the lettuce to my plate and then spoon the chickpea salad over the top. The benefit to doing it this way, is if you have leftovers they will keep longer. If the two are mixed, the vinaigrette can make the greens soggy over time.