I love chickpeas and eat them several times a week. They are not only tasty, they are so good for you: full of fiber, protein, folate, calcium, etc. I’m always trying to come up with new ideas for how to use them, and in this version, they are starring alongside halloumi cheese, that fabulous cheese from Cyprus that you can fry or grill.
This is a really easy but very tasty chickpea salad recipe, perfect for hot summer evenings, and good when having company since you can prepare most of it ahead of time.
If you want to keep it vegan, just omit the halloumi. It can be hard to find sometimes, and I have made a cheese-less version of this salad a couple of times, and it’s delicious without it too.
Ingredients
- 2 cans chickpeas (I use Eden Organics - no BPA)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large pressed garlic clove
- 2 tbsp dried cilantro
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Cholula (as much as you want, I probably use 2 tbsp)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Lettuce
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 red pepper
- Halloumi
Instructions
- Rinse the chickpeas and put in a bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cilantro, Cholula, salt and pepper and stir everything together. Taste to see if you want more of any of the spices. If you're not eating right away, put a lid on it and put it in the fridge (you can do this a day or two ahead of time if you want - the chickpeas just get tastier and tastier when they sit in the dressing).
- In a salad bowl, mix the lettuce with cherry tomatoes cut in half and chopped red pepper.
- Heat a cast iron pan and slice the Halloumi in thin slices, roughly ¼" wide. When the pan is hot, carefully lay the cheese slices in it in one layer (no fat needed) and fry until the side facing down is nice and brown. Turn the cheese and fry the other side. Once both sides are nice and brown, they are ready. They will be nice and crispy on the outside and slightly creamy on the inside.
- Put a mound of lettuce, tomatoes and peppers on each plate, add a generous spoonful of the chickpea mix, and top with a few pieces of cheese.
Also see my spicy chickpea dip recipe, inspired by this salad.
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