A make-ahead chickpea salad filled with fresh vegetables and a sweet and sour date and tamarind dressing.
Spring break, wooooooooooooo!!
And by spring break I mean…..hanging out with Remy, going to playgrounds as early as possible to avoid any and all human interaction, and *hopefully* getting to see my brother and mom (inside!) by the end of the week because everyone (Remy excluded, of course) will be fully vaccinated.
This is the life.
I mean, a year ago we would have said this is insanity, but now, living what we’ve lived, it’s THE LIFE.
I am so ready for free (family) childcare, it’s not even funny.
I find I get nothing done when I’m home alone with Remy, so a key part of keeping this week as happy and stress-free as possible has been a whole lot of meal prep. Starting with this incredibly fabulous make-ahead chickpea salad!!
It’s from Nik Sharma’s latest cookbook – The Flavor Equation – and I am head over heels for it. It’s super simple to prepare, comes together in less than ten minutes, and is basically just delicious.
The dressing is a sweet and sour mixture of date syrup, tamarind paste, lime juice, and ground ginger. You can adjust the various components to taste but made as is, it has just the right amount of sweet and mouth-puckering tartness.
The salad itself is made from pantry and refrigerator staples – canned chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber cubes. They soak up the flavor of the dressing without getting overly soggy after a stay in the fridge. To keep it extra fresh, you can also keep the salad and the dressing separate until ready to serve. Eat it warm, at room temperature, or chilled. It is so perfect for a grab-and-go meal, I’ve been doubling the recipe and keeping it in the fridge for random bites throughout the day. Never disappoints.
- ¼ cup date syrup
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp fresh dill leaves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
- ½ tsp amchur powder
- ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- sea salt, to taste
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the date syrup, tamarind paste, lime juice, and ginger. Season to taste with salt. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- In a large bowl, toss together the chickpeas, cucumber, shallot, cherry tomatoes, dill, mint, olive oil, pepper flakes, amchur, and black pepper. Toss with 2 tbsp of the dressing, then season to taste with salt. Add more dressing as desired.
Kids keep you busy at that age! This salad looks amazing–healthy & vibrant. YUM.