I have been purchasing and cooking mass quantities (4 x 1 pound bags) of dried chickpeas in the last few weeks because 1) they are tasty and filling, 2) they are inexpensive, and 3) dried chickpeas have a long shelf life. Chickpeas are great for me (temporary vegetarian) because they have a nice meaty flavor and texture. However, I’ve gotten a little sick of hummus and don’t want a dish that requires 50 ingredients (like some of the tasty, but complex curries I’ve made in the past). Ben alerted me to a series of recipes in the NY Times last month that centered around chickpeas. I tried this chickpea salad recipe and it was amazing! I will certainly make it again (and perhaps share it at potlucks in the future).
Green Bean Salad with Chickpeas and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
Dry components:
1/2 lb green beans
3 oz. mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced thin (about 1.25 cup)
2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 oz. shaved Parmasean (1/4 cup)
3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley), but you can also use chives, marjoram or tarragon
Wet components (dressing ingredients):
1 tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice (ie. juice from 1/2 lemon)
1 tbsp vinegar (they recommend sherry vinegar, but I used rice vinegar. I think white or red wine vinegar would also work)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove finely minced
salt, pepper to taste
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used Columela brand–found at Giant supermarket)
Instructions:
1. Blanch the green beans for 4 min. Then cool in a bowl of ice water (I didn’t have ice, so I just cool with some water, then ran cold water over beans in a collander). I usually trim the stems beforehand, but the recipe says to do it after they’ve been blanched. I broke my beans in half for ease of eating.
2. Combine dry salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper together. Whisk in the olive oil.
4. Wait until just before eating/serving to toss the dressing with the dry ingredients–because the dressing will turn your green beans an ugly grey color if you put them in the fridge for a while. It’s ok to make them both separately several hours before serving and combine at the end. Just make sure you cover the dry ingredients with plastic wrap or else mushrooms will dry out (get an ugly brown crust).