Spicy Chickpea Salad

By bakers_delight85

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno, deseeded and finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/3 cup roasted, salted cashews or almonds
• 1 ripe avocado, diced into chunks
• small handful flat leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped (2 cloves is for garlic lovers)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• heaping 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon agave or honey
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• 2 cups clean baby spinach leaves

Details

Adapted from joythebaker.com

Preparation

Step 1

Start by making the dressing. In a medium bowl, with a fork, mash together garlic and salt until it forms a paste. Blend in the mustard, agave, red wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until mixture is thick and emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t need much at all).

In a large bowl, toss together chickpeas, onion, jalapeno, lemon zest and juice, nuts avocado and parsley. Toss the dressing into the chickpea mixture and blend well. Add the cleaned spinach leaves just before serving. Serve immediately or store in a container in the refrigerator for up to three days.