Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, olives, feta, parsley and mint tossed in a lemon, red wine vinegar and oregano dressing, with the red onion softened in the dressing first. No cooking, about 15 minutes.
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cans (400 g / 15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 480 g / 3 cups), or 480 g (3 cups) home-cooked chickpeas
- ½ small red onion (about 40 g / ⅓ cup), finely chopped
- 225 g (1 ½ cups) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 medium cucumber (about 200 g / 7 oz), diced
- 1 red bell pepper (about 150 g / 5 oz), diced
- 55 g (⅓ cup) pitted Kalamata olives, halved
- 110 g (4 oz) feta, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
- 15 g (½ cup) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 7 g (¼ cup) fresh mint leaves, chopped
Dressing
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 90 ml (6 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in the red onion and leave it while you prepare everything else.
- Roll the rinsed chickpeas in a clean tea towel to dry them.
- Cut the tomatoes, and dice the cucumber and pepper into 1 cm (⅜ in) pieces. Halve the olives and chop the herbs.
- Whisk the olive oil into the dressing.
- Add the chickpeas and stir, then add the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and olives and toss well.
- Gently fold in the feta and herbs.
- Taste and adjust with salt or lemon. Rest 10 minutes if you can, toss again and serve.
Notes
- Thick-skinned cucumbers: peel in stripes and scoop out the seeds so the salad doesn't turn watery.
- Vegan: leave out the feta or use a plant-based feta; add toasted pine nuts or avocado.
- Grain bowl: add 185 g (1 cup) cooked quinoa, bulgur or farro, plus 1 tbsp each extra lemon juice and olive oil.
- Make ahead: up to 6 hours fully assembled, or up to 3 days with the tomatoes, cucumber, feta and herbs added on the day. Leftovers keep 2–3 days in the fridge. Do not freeze.