Chickpea & Tomato Salad

By Tonya_Speed

Ingredients

• 1 16 oz. bag of dried chickpeas
• 2 14.5 oz. cans of fat-free chicken broth
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley

Preparation

Step 1

1. Soak the beans in a big pot for at least 6 hrs. (over night is best), changing the water 3-4 times.

2. In a pot put chickpeas, broth, garlic (you can remove some of the loose skin, but throw the whole thing in basically untouched) and thyme. Add cold water until the chickpeas are covered by 1 1/2 -2 inches of liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 mins.

3. Stir in 4 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. of pepper and cook approx. 30 more minutes until chickpeas are tender (but not mushy!!).

4. Drain chickpeas, saving the garlic and discarding the thyme stems.

5. Squeeze out the garlic- enough to mash up into 4 tbsp. of paste (let it cool so you don't burn your fingers).

6. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic paste with 2 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. of pepper.

7. In a bowl mix the chickpeas with the tomatoes (halved) and parsley. Pour the sauce over it and toss to mix.