CHICKPEA AND NECTARINE SALAD

By á-10847

For our anything-but-boring salad, we started with the base. Hold the romaine and iceberg, we wanted something with a bit more interest. Not wanting to give up on greens altogether, we opted for a mixture of arugula and Swiss chard. Together, they make for a fantastic combination of peppery and colorful leafy greens.vegetable that is often overlooked. It is worth a try, however. Colorful and tasty, Swiss chard is full of nutritional goodness. SWISS CHARD is related to the beet, and comes in a variety of colors. The leafy portion is always a nice green, while the stalk can be white, bright yellow, or a Christmas red. You can buy it from a farmer's market or some supermarkets or you can substitute the Swiss chard for spinach or beet greens, it is not unusual to see all three colors packaged together as 'Rainbow Chard'. A very colorful salad or vegetable dish can be made using all three colors together. The edible portion is the leaf and stalk. The stalk needs to cook longer than the leaf, so it can be treated as two separate vegetables.The younger, sweeter leaves can be put raw in salads, providing color, nutrition, and a spinach-like taste. Larger leaves can be chopped and cooked. The leafy portions cook quickly like spinach; the stalks should be chopped into bite-size pieces and can be sautéed or steamed for a longer period of time than the leaves.

Ingredients

• Protein suggestions:
• CHICKPEA AND NECTARINE
• SALAD
• Two 15-ounce can chickpeas,
• drained, rinsed and dried with
• paper towels
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon curry powder, Old Bay or Cajun seasoning blend
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
• 5-ounce package baby arugula
• 1 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 3 nectarines, pitted and thinly
• sliced
• Soft-boiled or poached eggs
• Sliced cooked chicken breast
• Cooked shrimp
• Lightly seared and thinly sliced
• steak
• Marinated tofu or seitan
• Feta or halloumi (Greek grilling) cheese

Details

Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from ap.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400 F.

In a medium bowl, toss the chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the seasoning of choice, then a bit of salt and black pepper, as needed. Toss well to coat evenly, then spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, then set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, the rice vinegar, brown sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the Swiss chard, arugula, cucumber, celery and nectarines. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then toss gently to coat. Divide between 4 serving plates. Top with the roasted chickpeas and your choice of protein.

Nutrition information per serving: 470 calories; 170 calories from fat (36 percent of total calories); 19 g fat (2.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 63 g carbohydrate; 13 g fiber; 19 g sugar; 15 g protein; 380 mg sodium.