Perfect Protein Chickpea Salad

Perfect Protein Chickpea Salad

I find that this chickpea salad is perfect on its own for a light lunch. But if we’ve got an abundance of greens or if I’m feeling slightly fancy, I’ll serve it on a bed of arugula or spinach — with a few good stirs, I don’t even need dressing as the light sauce from the chickpeas dresses the greens perfectly.

A few ingredient notes: while this salad calls for spelt or wheat berries, you can use any hearty grain you like, really. Farro would be a strong candidate and barley would be great (just don’t overcook it). In the original recipe, they use a vegan mayonnaise, but I use the real thing here (and a little more of it). If you are vegan, feel free to make that substitution. I also think using half plain yogurt would work just fine. And fresh herbs! By all means swap them in. The original recipe calls for dried and I remained pretty true to it, but I think next time some fresh chives would be really nice.

Slightly adapted from: PCC

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 cup (180g) spelt or wheat berries
2 (14-ounce) cans garbanzo beans
1 English cucumber - peeled, seeded and diced (about 1 1/2 cups/120g)
1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and diced (about 1 cup /130g)
3 ribs celery, diced (1 cup/120g)
1 carrot, peeled and diced (1/2 cup/65g)
1/4 red onion, finely diced (1/2 cup/60g)
1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup/40g)
1/3 bunch parsley, chopped (1 1/2 cups/45g)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to season
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions

Add 3 cups of water to a medium pot and add the spelt berries. Over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover, cooking until tender but still chewy, about 45 minutes. Drain and cool.

In a salad, bowl mix together cooked spelt berries, garbanzo beans, diced cucumbers, green pepper, celery, carrots, red onions, green onions and chopped parsley.

Mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, salt, basil and garlic; pour over salad and mix well. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Salad will stay fresh for up to 4 days, covered, in the refrigerator.