Chickpea Salad

 

I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.  I actually came up with a recipe all on my own.  We had purchased a grocery store brand chickpea salad a handful of times and after review the ingredients, I decided that I was pretty sure I could do the same myself for less money and with more pizazz.  Of course, after I decided what I was going to do, I searched online for some similar recipes just to confirm that my ideas weren't crazy. And voila! Jesi's Chickpea Salad.

This recipe requires no cooking and takes about 10 minutes, or less, to whip up.  You want to give it an hour or two in the fridge to chill together, but if you can't wait to be wowed, just go for it!  Its an excellent side dish, or can be paired with some other veggies (like grilled zucchini) to make a full meal out of it.  The flavors are amazing and after my first try making it, Dan requested that this be a staple in the house at all times.

Here's the recipe.

Chickpea Salad

• 2 15 oz cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - drained and rinsed
• 1 large cucumber - quartered and sliced
• 1 cup carrots - julienned / matchstick
• 2 clove garlic - minced
• 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Greek salad dressing
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.  Refrigerate for 2 hours.  Serve chilled.


Done!
Here are some tips, suggestions and additions you may like:
Optional are tomatoes (10 cherry, halved) and red onion (1/2 small, chopped) - Dan isn't a fan of raw onions and I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes so we skipped this.
I used garlic and herb flavored feta to sort of kick it up a notch.
Not a fan of Greek?  Try Italian dressing.  Adds a little more zest and is wonderful (I actually used Italian the first go round).
Not a fan of kalamata?  Try black olives.
Need some short cuts - by presliced or chopped olives and matchstick carrots in the bag.
Something else??  Mix it up however you want!  This is an awesome summer salad and definitely one that you can tweak to your own tastes.

I would love to hear alternatives or additions to this when you try it at home.
Enjoy!