How to Prepare Chickpea Tomato Salad

 You may either serve it alone or with some crusty bread to mop up the mouthwateringly garlicky sauce.

A lemon herb dressing is an ideal condiment to go with the chickpea and tomato dish. The perfect lemon herb dressing is made with olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and an optional dash of cayenne.

You may also personalize the lemon herb dressing by adding other herbs of your choice, such as dried basil, dried parsley, dried Italian herbs, thyme, rosemary, and dill among others.

Substitutions and variations

The flavor combinations in this chickpea and tomato salad are so versatile, you can play around with the ingredients;

Chickpeas - For a quick salad, you may use canned chickpeas, or you can use fresh chickpeas that have been soaked overnight and boiled the day of preparation.

Tomatoes - Cherry tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes are both acceptable tomato options.

Red onion - Red onion is the most popular type, but you may also use white onions, green onions, chives, or any other type you have at hand.

Parsley - curled or flat-leaved parsley, in addition, you can use coriander for parsley.

You can add diced avocado for some healthy fats and creaminess.

Tips for making chickpea tomato salad

To personalize it, you can add anything else you have in the refrigerator or pantry. You won't be disappointed to when you add corn, diced red peppers or capsicum, olives, cucumber, or whatever else you like into the salad. For a hearty lunch, you might also add some canned tuna or rotisserie chicken.

The nicest thing about this salad is that, when using canned chickpeas, it just requires a little amount of time to prepare because no cooking is required.

Roasted nuts and seeds make the ideal no-cook, savory-sweet crisp topping for salads. You can add aromatic seeds like nigella or fennel to the nut-seed-spice combo. Granola gives the dish an unexpected sweetness and additional crunch.

Ingredients

3 cups canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

200g cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh coriander

1/4 cup red onion finely chopped

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper optional

Procedure

Place tomatoes into a large bowl and add some garlic and 1 teaspoon salt.

Using your hands or a large spoon, gently toss the tomatoes so that everything is evenly coated.

Let the tomatoes sit for about 10 minutes as the salt will draw out flavor from the tomatoes.

Add chickpeas, parsley, and red onion to a big bowl with the tomatoes and garlic mixture.

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, the remaining garlic, and herbs to make the dressing.

Add salt and pepper, then taste and adjust.

Add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and toss to coat thoroughly.

Serve immediately

Conclusion

A good chickpea salad is high in protein and low in fat, and this chickpea tomato salad, ticks all the right boxes.