Colorful Chickpea Salad (Vegan)

Please note that this recipe is not mine (nor the photos or text), it was created by Jolanta Gorzelana, a vegan chef who’ll be a guest blogger on the Herbalist Blog every now and then. Hope you enjoy! – Anna Rósa

A few years ago, however, I took a nice trip to Turkey and that’s where I changed my mind! In a small restaurant in Cappadoccia, I asked the waiter for something plant-based and he brought me a fantastic salad made with chickpeas, tomatoes, many spices and fresh herbs.

I recreated the recipe at home but I enriched it with oven-roasted bell peppers. It is a very easy recipe to make and I’d say that the most difficult part is roasting and peeling the peppers. So there’s no need to feel intimidated: I will guide you as you go through the instructions below. However, if you want to make this step easier, you can use store-bought roasted peppers. Also, if you don’t like peppers, you can replace them with a large tomato or fried or baked aubergine chunks.

You can customize this salad completely to your liking. For example, to give this salad a little contrast – as well as make it even healthier – you can serve it on a bed of mixed salad or any other type of green leafy vegetables. You can also add more ingredients such as various herbs, avocado, quinoa and olives.

Ingredients for 2 – 4 servings:

• 480 g of cooked chickpeas
• 2 large bell peppers
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 2 tbsp of wine vinegar (red or white)
• 10 sprigs of parsley, chopped finely
• 3 tbsp of basil leaves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp of lemon or lime juice
• 1 tsp of maple syrup or another sweetener
• 1 piece of fresh ginger, 2 cm long, finely grated (or 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger)
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp of crushed chili or 1/2 of fresh chili
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Wipe the peppers, halve them lengthways, remove their seeds, then place them in a baking dish. Bake for 40-50 minutes, letting the peppers blacken here and there. They are ready when their skin is roasted and the edges are almost black.

2. Cut the onion into half-moons, then sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Let it marinate for 30 – 40 minutes.

3. Once the peppers are cooked, place them for a moment in a glass container or in a plastic bag (closing them in an airtight container will loosen the skins), and then peel them. Alternatively, you can cover them with aluminum foil and then peel them. Cut each pepper into slices.

4. Pour the cooked chickpeas into a salad bowl.

5. Add the chopped aromatics, peppers and onion into the salad bowl with the chickpeas.

6. In a cup, mix the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, ginger, cumin, chili (if you use the fresh one, make sure to cut it into fine cubes), salt and pepper. Pour the sauce into the bowl with the remaining ingredients. 

7. Mix everything, then serve.
   If you don’t serve it immediately, keep the salad in the fridge.