Friday, April 1, 2011

Super-Simple Chickpea Salad

Skipping straight from hearty chicken and dumplings to a heat-wave-worthy salad is a sure sign that it's been a long break from blogging for me. In my defense, I did make a baby. So when I say this simple dish can be knocked out in your sleep, I'm not really exaggerating by much.

This salad was inspired by my friend Diana, who whipped up a version with canned corn and the disclaimer that "it doesn't look like much, but it's really tasty." You can really play around with the veggies here. Add red bell pepper for sweetness if corn's not in season. Swap out the chickpeas for black beans. Include some finely diced persian cucumbers or fennel bulb or a handful of juicy cherry tomatoes. You can make a dressing by mixing the lime juice with olive oil if you like, but I find just a generous squeeze of lime juice along with a pinch of sea salt to be all the seasoning this salad needs.

Chickpea, Corn, and Avocado Salad

1 red onion, very finely diced
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 ear of white corn, kernels removed with a knife
Juice from 2 limes
Pinch of sea salt
Handful of Italian parsley, chopped

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well.

Tada! Officially the shortest recipe I've ever written.