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2 Chickpeas Salads : My Style and Balila

2018-06-02
  • Servings: 4

There are other recipes for chickpea salads or stews. I will publish them soon so you will have a wider choice for cooking this légume which is high in protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. 

The photo and ingredients are for “My Style” chickpea salad.

For hommos “Balila” (Lebanese recipe), use the same ingredients but omit the lemon juice, the cayenne pepper, the parsley and the radishes. Use only mashed garlic, cumin powder, salt and olive oil.

NB: because of the time it takes to cook chickpeas from scratch, most people will choose to use canned chickpeas.
But I would like to stress how much tastier and healthier (no additives) chickpeas are when you cook them yourself.

Tip: cook a big batch of chickpeas that have been soaked overnight then freeze them in bags, for further use.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water with 2 tbsp of bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 garlic cloves, mashed + 1 onion finely diced
  • 3 or 4 radishes thinly sliced (round slices)
  • 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped (about 2 handfuls)
  • Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 level tsp of cumin powder + 1/2 tsp of black pepper
  • 1 glug of olive oil (enough to cover the chickpeas)
  • Salt, to taste

Method

Step 1

Rinse the chickpeas that have been soaked overnight in water and bicarbonate of soda. Put them in a pot with enough cold water and cook them first on high heat, without the lid. When it starts boiling, lower the heat to a minimum, cover with the lid and let it cook until the chickpeas are tender but not mushy (unlike the chickpeas cooked for Hommos).

Step 2

In a salad bowl, combine the drained chickpeas with the other ingredients. Mix well, taste and adjust (if needed) then serve at room temperature, or cold.

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