Herby Salad with Toasted Chickpeas (and quick-caramelised shallots!)
/In a large bowl, chop up an assortment of fresh herbs such as mint, coriander, parsley, chives etc.
Roughly chop and add any other leaves and veg you have in your fridge. For this salad I used: endives, tomatoes, cucumber, and radishes. Also good: bell peppers and pomegranate!
In a large flat frying pan, toast some pine nuts, and bashed pistachio kernels on medium/high heat until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl and allow to cool.
In the same frying pan, heat up a small amount of oil. Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas and shake the colander to remove as much water from the chickpeas as possible.
Throw the chickpeas into the frying pan and shake the pan so that they’re spread out. Sprinkle a generous pinch of sumac and sea salt. If you can’t get your hands on some sumac you can use your own selection of spices. Ground coriander and paprika are also nice. Shake the pan to distribute the spices and toast the chickpeas on high heat for a few minutes, shaking every once in a while.
While the chickpeas are frying, roughly chop some shallots; chop them quite finely.
Remove the chickpeas, transfer to a bowl to cool off and add some more oil to the frying pan. Add the onions, some salt, and a drizzle of honey. Lower the heat and allow the onions to cook down until golden. This shouldn’t take too long if the onions are cut finely.
When the nuts, chickpeas and onions have cooled off, add them to the bowl of chopped veg and toss well.
Drizzle with some good olive oil, honey, and the juice from a lemon and half an orange. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.
This salad goes really well with marinated chicken skewers! I marinated my chicken in yogurt, crushed garlic, fresh mint, olive oil, salt and pepper for a few hours!