Pear & Chickpea Salad with Lemon Dressing

lemon dressing: whisk together

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried scallion
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

salad:

• 2 cups mixed greens
• 1/2 ripe pear, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon toasted almonds
• 1 Tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tablespoons lemon dressing (above)

Tip from Love and Lemons: In a small bowl, toss the chickpeas with a bit of the dressing and some salt and pepper. Marinating the chickpeas for a few minutes helps them become more flavorful.

Toss all of the salad ingredients together with as much dressing as you like. Season to taste. Add a bit more feta cheese, if you like.

Adapted from Pear & Arugula Chickpea Salad Recipe – Love and Lemons

Chickpea Breakfast Skillet

Cook’s notes:  Inspired by several online recipes. This breakfast dish is quite filling. I used leftover roasted chickpeas (cooked at 400F for 25 minutes).

Serves 1 to 2 people

1 pat of butter
2 eggs
30 g (1 cup) baby spinach
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 Tablespoon cheddar cheese

Place the butter in a pan over low heat. While the butter melts, crack the two eggs into a bowl and scramble them with a little water.

Turn the heat to medium. Add the spinach and stir to wilt it. Pour in the eggs, and stir to scramble them. Add the cheese. Continue to gently stir until everything is cooked through.

Tomato Chickpea Soup

 

Soup… hard to photograph, but easy to eat

Cook’s notes: Slightly modified from the Love & Lemons blog, which called this “the perfect pantry soup…This soup tastes better the longer it sits (especially the next day)… so this would be a great one to make in advance.” The balsamic vinegar gives it a sweet taste; no extra sugar is needed.

 

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion (or half of a large one), chopped
2 orange bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 big garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 teaspoon each sweet and smoked paprika
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar)
14-oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
14-oz. can (2 cups) cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
14-oz. can light coconut milk
1.5 cups vegetable broth (use the empty coconut milk can to measure it)

Heat oil in a medium pot. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, a few pinches of salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the paprikas and cook until fragrant (30 seconds or so).

Add balsamic vinegar and stir. Add the tomatoes and thyme. Stir, then add the chickpeas, coconut milk, and broth. Cover and gently simmer for 20-30 minutes. Uncover and let cool slightly.

Transfer to a blender and roughly puree. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with extra balsamic.

 

Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas

Cook’s notes: I combined and adapted several similar recipes for roasted broccoli with chickpeas. This simple side dish gives you a fiber and protein. I served it with bowtie pasta tossed with jarred pumpkin sauce and sliced chicken sausages. The pumpkin sauce was from Cucina Antica.

Heat oven to 375F degrees.

Drain and rinse 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas. Pat them dry with a paper towel.

Chop 1 head of broccoli into florets. Combine broccoli and chickpeas. Toss with 4 teaspoons olive oil and 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for at least 20 minutes and rotate the pan after 10 minutes. Drizzle with additional balsamic after roasting.

Sources:

The Teacher-Chef recommends topping this dish with some high-quality Parmesan cheese and serving it over quinoa.

Kate Taylor gave me the idea to add balsamic vinegar when roasting chickpeas. She recommends combining this dish with orzo pasta.

Broccoli + chickpeas + balsamic = tasty

Roasted Curry Salmon with Chickpeas and Raita

A wonderful plate of flavors…easy Indian-style dinner

Roasted Curry Salmon with Grape Tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
0.7 pound (11.2 oz.) skinless salmon fillet
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup torn fresh basil

Heat oven to 400F. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes, oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Spread out on the prepared baking sheet.

Nestle the salmon among the tomatoes. Season with the curry powder. Roast until the salmon is opaque throughout and the tomatoes are soft, 15 to 18 minutes.

While the salmon cooks, make the Raita (recipe follows).

Top the salmon with Raita and basil leaves, and serve immediately.

Raita

Heat 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, in a saucepan with a little water. Use 1/2 cup in the raita and serve the remaining chickpeas on the side.

1 cup plain Greek yogurt, fat-free
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 oz. minced cucumber (peeled)
3/4 teaspoon minced dried onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Salmon: Recipe adapted from Sara Quessenberry, August, 2010, in realsimple

Raita: Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman (revised recently to remove sugar; we made it a second time, and the sugar wasn’t missed at all)