Have you ever had that Cedar Point’s Chickpea Salad? It’s found by the hummus and like. Well, I did for the first time the other day and was shocked at how delicious I thought it was! Chocked full of nutrients and a great sweet/savory/sour flavor combination, I was pretty impressed. SO- I thought I’d recreate my own at home : )
The Cedar Point’s salad contains chickpeas, edamame, cranberries, red peppers, carrots, and a rosemary herb oil dressing. I didn’t want to duplicate the salad entirely since I wasn’t sure I would succeed not knowing the dressing components, so I kind of just came up with some on my own. I started with a base recipe for Chickpea Salad by Rachel Ray. I didn’t complete like her ingredients list though so I played with that just a tad. I swapped out the celery for some cucumber- same kind of crunch but better flavor. And I bumped up the oil quantity in the oil to vinegar proportion of the dressing. Originally it read 2 Tb vinegar to 3 Tb oil and I just don’t think that is a great ratio. Usually it is 1:3 vinegar to oil and rachel was calling for 2:3, quite a difference. Plus, I don’t like things too vinegary so I really want to change that.
And maybe you don’t like cucumbers or carrots so much, feel free to substitute one of your other favorite vegetables such as carrots, green bell peppers, etc. Even tomatoes would make a great choice. But to really get the most out of this salad, you need to let the flavors meld for a while. I dressed it and then ate it almost immediately and it wasn’t nearly as good as it was the next day. That happens with a lot of salads and soups, the flavors just get better. But by the third day or so this salad will start to weep and get wet and soggy. I know that most people probably don’t have food hanging around for that long as leftovers, but I always do since I am just serving myself usually. I just like to warn you when things don’t keep especially well.
As far as making this a sweet/savory/sour flavor combination like the Cedar’s Point salad, I really decided to go mostly savory on this one. Not too much sour from the vinegar and I opted out of using any dried fruit just because I usually have enough sugar going on in my diet that I don’t like to add any more when it’s not necessary. So ultimately this salad is very healthful, chocked full of nutrients and fiber. Not to mention it’s just very, VERY good!
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 clove garlic (about 1 tsp), minced or grated then grinded into a paste with salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped, a few sprigs
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Combine chick peas with onions, peppers, and cucumbers. In a small bowl combine garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, vinegar, and oil. Toss salad with dressing.
slightly adapted from Rachel Ray
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I just saw this salad on RecipeNewZ. It’s so delicious, healhty and bright! A very happy salad
. Thank you for sharing! This recipe is going to my to try list.
I’m going to feature this in my blog’s daily foodporn list called “Daily Foodporn For Your Inspiration”. Check it out. You might get to find a new cooking and food blogs too. Don’t worry, I will definitely link back here.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing : ) I’ll check it out.
I found your site through pinterest and thought it was so serendipitous, as I just made something similar to this in my Amsterdam kitchen. I also lived in upstate NY for a while (i miss the trees and fall leaves)
Here’s my version if you’re interested! http://dellacucinapovera.com/2012/09/13/chickpea-salad/
Thanks for the recipe share