How to Make Chickpea Salad

Chickpeas (lentils, garbanzo beans) are a versatile bean which is great served hot or cold. While the chickpea is a bit bland by itself, when blended into dishes with layers of flavor, it is a hefty additive and full of protein. A few simple steps are all it takes to make a chickpea salad.

Things You'll Need

• One can of chickpeas (also called lentils or garbanzo beans)
• Mixing bowl
• Bell peppers
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas and pour them into a mixing bowl.

2. Chop red, green, yellow, orange (or a mixture of many) bell peppers into small cubes, and add them to the bowl with the chickpeas.

3. Mince a clove or two of garlic and add it to the bowl of ingredients. Be sure to mince the garlic thoroughly to avoid an overwhelming bite of it.

4. Drizzle the chickpeas, peppers and garlic with 2 tbsps. of extra virgin olive oil.

5. Sprinkle the salad with salt to taste and add a dash of freshly ground black pepper.

6. Toss all of the ingredients together to coat in oil, salt and pepper.

7. Serve the chickpea salad hot or cold. For a hot salad, briefly heat the olive oil, garlic and peppers together to infuse the oil with flavor.

Tips & Warnings

• The words chickpea, garbanzo and lentil are interchangeable. Keep these names in mind when bargain shopping for chickpeas.

• This dish is also nice with the addition of parsley, cilantro, cumin, onions and other vegetables.

Resources

• Everything you need to know about chickpeas
• Chickpea recipes