Chickpea Medley

By devogirl

Cilantro and cumin isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (or so I’ve heard many times), so I tried a version of this recipe with parsley and I’m happy to report that it worked really well in place of cilantro. I imagine other herbs would work too. You can change up the spices if you’d like too. Who knows, maybe you will come out with your very own recipe at the end of it all.

If you’ve never had minced spinach in a salad before, it’s a sneaky way to pack in a ton of greens into a salad without even realizing it. Would you believe there is a whole bag of spinach hiding in there plus over a cup of fresh herbs? It makes this high-protein recipe full of green power. Not to mention, the vitamin C in the lime juice helps with iron absorption from the iron-rich chickpeas and spinach. In fact, just 1 serving of this salad contains 45% of your daily iron requirement. Yee-haw.

For more staying power, serve it on top of a bed of grains. It’s also great stuffed into a pita and paired with my favourite Lemon Tahini Dressing.

Ingredients

• for the chickpea medley:
• 2 cups dried/uncooked chickpeas (makes 5.5-6 cups cooked)
• 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach
• 1.5 cups cilantro, large stems removed (or parsley)
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped finely
• for the dressing:
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt + ground pepper
• (or serve on top of grains. Or stuffed in a pita)

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from ohsheglows.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. To cook chickpeas: Soak 2 cups dried chickpeas in a large bowl of water overnight (I find around 12 hours or a bit longer is ideal). Soaking beans makes them digest easier and it also cuts down on cooking time. Drain and rinse the beans in the morning and add to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until fork tender, about 40 minutes (this will vary depending on how fresh your dried beans are). Feel free to set the timer, walk away, and go about your business!

2. Rinse and drain the spinach and cilantro (or parsley). Spin until dry in a salad spinner.

3. In a food processor, add the spinach and cilantro and pulse until chopped very small. You can do this in a couple batches if your processor is smaller. Add the processed spinach and cilantro, drained cooked chickpeas, and chopped onion into a large bowl and stir.

4. In a small jar, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, maple syrup, and salt.

5. Pour the dressing on top of the spinach chickpea mixture and stir well. Let stand for about 10 minutes (or overnight) to let the flavours develop. Will keep for a few days, or longer, in the fridge.