Chickpea Salad

Chickpea Salad

Meena puts an Indian twist on a Middle Eastern salad. For a fresh and delicious treat, try this one out.

Dice one green bell pepper, one yellow bell pepper, one red bell pepper, and one orange bell pepper. Chop one large carrot into small pieces, dice one onion, dice one jalapeño pepper, and dice one tomato. Chop one bunch of parsley. Combine them into a large bowl, and add 2 cans of drained garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Mix together.

Tip: To avoid excess water in the salad, wash the vegetables the night before and keep them in the refrigerator overnight.

Add one tsp of ground cumin seeds, one tsp of garlic powder, and about one tsp of salt (to taste). Add half a cup of olive oil and 3/4 cup of lemon juice. Mix together, and serve.

It’s tempting to finish the bowl – save a little for your friends!

Goi Ga

To prepare the dressing, Nuoc Cham in Vietnamese, combine in a small mixing bowl the following ingredients:    2 tablespoons of Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam), 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 4 chopped green jalapeño peppers, 1 teaspoon of Sambal Oelek Chili Sauce, and juice from 1/2 a lime

To prepare the salad, Goi Ga in Vietnamese, first boil or steam the 2 pieces of boneless chicken breast, let cool, and then shred into small slivers. Next, slice 1 medium yellow onion into paper thin slivers and marinate for one hour in a mixture of 1/2 cup of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of table salt. Then slice 1 small head (~ 2 lbs) of green cabbage into thin slices (as you would to make cole slaw). Finally, in a large bowl, toss the cabbage, the marinated onion, shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves, and nuoc cham (dressing) together. Remember to refrigerate until ready to serve and to sprinkle with 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts (lightly salted) immediately prior to serving.