Monday, July 6, 2009

Chickpea & Tomato Salad w/ Feta, Mint & Basil


Chickpea & Tomato Salad w/ Feta, Mint & Basil

1 small red onion thinly sliced (I finely chopped)
1 small fresh red chili (I used jalapeno b/c I have a lot of them right now)
2 handfuls of red or yellow cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used some of both)
Juice of 2 lemons
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed well (I used 2 b/c I thought it needed more, maybe that's b/c I used a good bit of basil & mint!)
2 T fresh mint leaves, roughly torn or chopped
2 T fresh basil leaves, roughly torn or chopped
7 oz of Feta (I didn't measure, just used what I had)

1. Combine the onion, chili, & tomatoes w/ their juice into a bowl. Dress w/ most of the lemon juice & olive oil to taste, then season w/ salt & pepper.

***I completely omitted Step 2 below b/c I wasn't paying attention - it's delicious w/o cooking, but I'll try it this way next time***

2. In a small skillet, drizzle a little olive oil over medium heat & add chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes until hot & creamy & just beginning to color. Add them to the bowl and allow to marinate & cool.

3. Once cooled, toss the herbs and season again to taste, adding any remaining lemon juice if needed. Serve w/ the feta cheese loosely crumbled on top.