Smashed Chickpea Salad

Smashed Chickpea Salad

I love chickpeas, they are very filling and full of protein (9g/100g*) and dietary fiber (8g/100g*). Like lentils, chickpeas is easily flavored while cooking and by what ever you dress it with. 

I really like the tanginess and the specks of salty olives and chili peppers. Overall this chickpea salad is a simple, quick weekday side. I served it with beer can chicken, an all-time favorite in my house.

This recipe is adapted from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.

Serves 3.

Ingredients:

• 450 g cooked, cooled chickpeas

• 100 g green olives, pitted and thinly sliced

• 3 small pickled chilies, sliced

• 1 handful Italian parsley, chopped

• ½ teaspoon freeze dried buckthorn

• 35 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Soak and cook the chickpeas according to instruction on the package, or like Chickpea and Carrot Salad a la Thomas Keller. If you are in a hurry use 2 cans of chickpeas, drain and rinse them. 

Mix all but the olive oil and smash the salad with a potato masher, until you have a coarse mixture, with chunky pieces. Dress the salad with the Olive oil, and season it with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Enjoy!

* In the boiled chickpeas.

Mushroom Lentil Salad

Mushroom Lentil Salad

The perfect filling meaty salad for a meatless Monday. We had the salad as a side, but it would be great as lunch. The texture was really great and the pop of tartness from the lemon, and the nuttiness from the arugula worked perfect with the mushrooms.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ cup green lentils, cooked according to instructions on the package

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking the mushrooms

• 300 g baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

• 1 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 lemon, peeled and cut into filets

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, as dressing, optional

• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1-2 handful arugula

Directions:

Boil the lentils until tender according to instructions on the package. I boiled mine in a mushroom base, for flavor. Set the lentils aside to cool.

Fillet the lemon with a sharp knife. Cut the top and bottom off the lemon. Set your knife where the white meets the flesh and start cutting downward in a curved motion following the shape of the lemon. Keep doing this until you have peeled the lemon. Carefully cut the filets out. Save the juice, to use in the dish.

Heat the oil over high heat and cook the mushrooms, until tender. Lower the heat to medium high. Add red pepper flakes and the minced garlic, and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the lentils, chopped parsley, lemon juice and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving toss in the arugula and lemon segments. 

Enjoy!

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

Grapefruit Avocado Salad

The healthy colorful salad contain two of my favorite ingredients: avocado and grapefruit. The slightly sourness and sweetness from the grapefruit pairs well with the creamy avocado. When I stumbled upon this recipe, I had to try it, and it was a winner for sure.  

This is how I made the salad:

This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Elise Bauer from Simplyrecipes.com.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, peeled and sliced
• 2 grapefruits, peeled and cut into filets
• lettuce

Dressing:

• ½ shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 50 ml olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix and emulsify the dressing in a bowl and set aside.

Fillet the grapefruits with a sharp knife. Cut the top and bottom off. Set your knife where the white meets the flesh and start cutting downward in a curved motion following the shape of the grapefruit. Keep doing this until you have peeled the grapefruit. Carefully cut the segments out as filets.

Arrange the avocado and grapefruit segments on a platter, on top of some lettuce. Drizzle the dressing on top, and serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

Tabouli

This salad is very easy and tasty. its was perfect with the falafels. Adding some greens and some tomatoes it was a great meal.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 bunches finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• ⅓  cup chopped fresh mint
• ½ cup coarse bulgur, prepared
• ½ firm tomato, chopped 
• 1 scallion chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra Virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Prepare the bulgur according to instructions on the package. Do not over soak the bulgur, you want bulgur to finish softening in the tabouli with the oil and lemon juice.

Chopped parsley and mint finely, and set aside.

In a large bowl mix bulgur, chopped tomato, chopped scallions with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the parsley, mint, olive oil and mix it all. Season the tabouli with salt, cayenne, more oil and lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Salad with Orange and Poppyseed Dressing

Salad with Orange and Poppyseed Dressing

I have had enough of christmas food for this year. Three days with pork roast and roasted duck, is more than enough, but then again, I don't want to throw perfectly good food away. The last few days I have been craving a lighter dinner, and tonight we had this colorful salad with an orange-poppyseed dressing. This kind of foods makes me and my stomach happy. The sweet but tangy dressing pairs perfectly with the fresh fruit, the cheese, avocado and chicken. The poppyseeds and almonds gives the salad a great texture. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 4-5 big handful mixed baby greens or baby spinach 
• 1 large or 2 small chicken breasts, grilled
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 handful sliced almonds, toasted
• fresh berries
• 2 small slices or 3 tablespoons crumbled cheese (blue cheese, feta or goat cheese)

Dressing:

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 orange, the zest of 1 and the juice from 1½ orange
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Dressing:

Put all the ingredients in a shaker, and shake the dressing until emulsified, refrigerate until serving.

Salad:

Place the greens in a salad bowl and arrange the rest of the ingredients on top. Dress the salad with the dressing just before serving. 

Enjoy!