Saturday, December 23, 2006

sweet and spicy chickpea & mint salad

this salad [or appetizer] can be served two ways, with or without tuna. it is sweet and meant to be enjoyed in small portions. the coolness of the mint and sweetness of the sugar go very well together. using tuna makes it incredibly high in protein, though on its own is just as good. i would only advise only using fresh mint for this one.

sweet and spicy chickpea & mint salad


ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly in half moons
small handful of mint leaves, chopped finely
2 - 3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp white vinegar
2 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
red chili flakes or hot sauce, like sriracha

1 can tuna, well-drained
slivered roasted red pepper or sundried tomato

method:

slice onion and mince garlic and mint and put in a medium to large bowl. add the sugar, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper and mix well. add as much hot sauce or chili flakes as you like. mix well and let sit for 20 minutes. stir once or twice.

drain the chickpeas well and add to the bowl. mix well and let marinate for 1/2 hour. taste and adjust.

add tuna and sun dried tomato or roasted red pepper slivers before serving, if using.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Salad, many thanks for sharing....

TopChamp said...

Hello - was reading your blog and have followed a few of your links... and now I'm REALLY HUNGRY. So I'll be off now for some lunch. Also: Kandi's doing ok thanks. Think she'll see another year in.

Cheryl said...

Mmmmint. I'll be back to try this in the new year - looks yummy.

burekaboy — said...

hi dilip - welcome and many thanks :)

topchamp - hey there. see you got a customized avatar now, nice! was happy to hear the good mews about kandinsky :) poor kitty.

so, merry christmas to you and yours. nice to see you had a chance to stop by with all you have going on!

hey ostara - i love mint, too. hope u like sweet things! but you can reduce the sugar if you don't. it's forgiving.

wishing you and j (and the rest, too!) a very happy christmas and holiday season :) filled with good health, and of course good eats!!

Denise Rootenberg said...

Yum, this sounds good. Similar to one I admired in the latest Susie Fishbein book except much lower fat. Will try yours rather. Love your name. Your description of your obsession with recipes etc. sounds just like me except I am female. Also live in Canada.

burekaboy — said...

denise - hi there. welcome and thanks for the comment.

this salad IS good :) i haven't looked at susie's latest book but i'm sure it's quite nice like her others which became quite successful.

as for fat content, i still hold that including oil makes a big difference in flavour and texture ('mouthfeel') and almost always use olive oil which is considered healthy. also, when you break it down - per serving, it's very little in terms of 'fat' intake.

if you do give this one a try, hope you like it!