That time I threw a crispy snack on top of my summer salad
I have been playing around with variations on seasoned, crispy chickpeas as a snack.
Keen to avoid deep-frying them, I tried baking them several ways — at different temperatures for long and longer stretches of time. But it was ultimately a 10-minute sizzle in a skillet with olive oil that won me over as the preferred method.
This technique gives the legume a creamier interior while crisping the outside to an addictive crunch, and the quick cooking time means they could be made on a whim, which is a plus when it comes to snacks, and especially ones like these which are best eaten hot.
When I first made these, as I munched away on them from the snack bowl, I couldn’t help but think about how good they would be as a protein-rich layer of crunch in a salad. So I built this salad around them. Its base is the crisp lettuce, tomato, cucumber and red onion that are often piled on top of a falafel sandwich, and it is dressed with the sandwich’s classic lemon-tahini dressing. The aromatically spiced crispy chickpeas that are the salad’s inspiration are tossed in at the end.
Salad with Crispy Spiced Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing
This salad gets its inspiration from the elements that fill a falafel sandwich, with warm, crunchy, cumin-spiced chickpeas, crisp lettuce, cucumber, tomato and red onion in a lemon-tahini dressing.
Enjoy it as a starter or as part of a mezze spread, or double the portion and have it as a main course with some warm pita.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
For the dressing 3 tablespoons tahini, well stirred 3 tbsp water 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper For the salad 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, shredded (about 7 cups) ½ English cucumber, quartered and sliced 1 cup halved grape tomatoes ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander Pinch ground cayenne pepper ¼ tsp salt One 15-ounce can no-salt-added chickpeas 2 tbsp olive oil
For the dressing: Whisk the tahini, water and lemon juice together in a medium bowl, until creamy and well blended. Stir in the parsley, salt and black pepper.
For the salad: Toss the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and red onion together in a large bowl.
Combine the cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and salt in a bowl.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then dry them as thoroughly as possible by placing them on top of a paper towel in a bowl and patting them dry with an additional paper towel. Remove and discard any skins that fall off, but don’t worry about getting them all.
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas and cook for eight to 10 minutes, shaking or stirring occasionally until they have crisped and become lightly browned. Stir in the spice mixture and toss to coat, then transfer the chickpeas to a plate.
Add the dressing to the salad and toss to incorporate, then toss in the chickpeas and serve.
Per serving: 220 calories, 9 grams protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 210 mg sodium, 8 g dietary fibre, 5 g sugar