Chickpea Salad with Summer Vegetables

When it is the middle of summer, and I am picking vegetables daily from my garden, sometimes the easiest thing to do is just to make a simple, refreshing salad.  Nothing taste better than fresh corn and tomatoes at the peak of ripeness.  They are sweet and delicious.  I've had a garden for three years now, and I have been spoiled.  Each year, tomatoes have been abundant.  A store bought tomato cannot compare with a tomato picked from your backyard.  For the most part, if it's not summer, I usually cook with canned tomatoes because they have so much more flavor than a fresh tomato in the middle of winter. 

This salad is simple and filling it is full of chickpeas and summer veggies.  The zucchini, shallots, and corn are sauteed briefly before being mixed in with cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese.  The whole salad is dressed with a light champagne vinaigrette and fresh herbs add some great flavor.  It is a great healthy lunch option.  You could also add some canned tuna to the salad for some extra protein.

Chickpea Salad with Summer Vegetables

 

for the salad:

 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 cups of fresh corn, from 4 ears of corn
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium seedless cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
• 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

 

for the vinaigrette:

 

• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

 

finish with:

 

• juice from half a lemon (optional)

  

To assemble the salad:

 

 

First make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl add the vinegar and Dijon mustard, slowly drizzle in olive oil, while whisking constantly to emulsify the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper, set aside while preparing the salad.

 

In a skillet set over medium heat, add the olive oil and once it is warm, saute the zucchini, shallots, shallots until everything is slightly soft, but not mushy, about 3 minutes. It is going into a salad, so you still want the vegetables to still be somewhat firm. Place in a bowl and allow to cool.

  

Add the tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, dill, parsley, and feta cheese to the bowl, pour on the vinaigrette (whisk before adding to the salad if it has separated while it had been set aside), and stir the salad gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and if desired squeeze a half of a lemon over the salad and stir to combine. I felt that the salad needed a bit more tartness, which is why I added the lemon juice at the end, but that might not be the case for everybody.