CURRIED CHICKPEA SALAD

I love, Love, LOVE creamy chickpea salads! They are so addicting that I can literally sit and eat the whole bowl within a day. If you're familiar with my blog you already know about the Mashed Chickpea Salad and Cranberry Walnut Chickpea Salad. Now we are delightfully adding this curried chickpea salad to the collection. I honestly can't say that I love one more than the other. They each have a different flavor and are equally delicious in my book. But if you're a curry lover, you will be smitten over this salad! Inspired by a recent trip to Trader Joe's and saw their Curry Chicken Salad and knew it was time to make a vegan version. The ingredients are inspired by their ingredient list and it did not disappoint. I love the combination of curry with the sweetness of the raisins, along with the crunch from the carrots and cashews. It's a perfect blend of flavor and textures. The ingredients are simple so you can pull this together easily. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week making it easy to pull together to-go lunches or simply to have on hand for snacking. I can almost guarantee this will not be in your fridge for that long...it will be gone almost as soon as you make it! This salad can be served alone, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens or made into a sandwich. I encourage you to gather your ingredients and give this salad a try. I think you will find it to be as good as the others. In fact, it may just become your new favorite!

Curried Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked or 2 cans (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 2 - 3 carrots (about 1 cup), diced
• 4 - 5 scallions/green onions (about 1 cup), sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins, dried currants or chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raw or toasted cashews
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup thinned hummus or tahini, vegan mayo would work too (see notes)
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine hummus with lemon juice, curry & garlic powder and a generous pinch of salt. Blend until combined. Set aside. (If adding vinegar or maple syrup as per the notes below, add to the hummus at this time.)

In a medium mixing bowl, add chickpeas and roughly mash about 1/2 of the beans with the back of a sturdy fork or potato masher. Add in the carrots, scallions, raisins, cashews and hummus, mix well to combine. Taste for flavor adding mineral salt and cracked pepper to taste.

Serve as is, with sliced red bell peppers as scoopers, on a bed of leafy greens, with crackers or made into a sandwich with bread of choice.

Serves 4-6.

Notes:

I love the sweetness that the dried fruit gives and could use up to 3/4 cup so each bite has a little sweetness to it. Feel free to add extra raisins, currants or dates.

If your hummus is on the thick side, thin it out with water until desired thinness. Using a small bowl add a couple rounded tablespoons of hummus with 1 tablespoon of water. Adding more of each as you go until you have a thinner hummus. Do the same if using tahini. Feel free to use more for a super creamy salad. If your measuring by tablespoons...8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup and about 11 tablespoons = 2/3 cups (technically 10 T + 2t).

You can try tweaking this recipe by adding a tablespoon or so of apple cider or white wine vinegar to the wet mixture. It will give it a slight tang. You may also like to try adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice to add a little sweetness all around. Adjust curry, adding more or less, to suit your taste.

Try replacing the carrots with diced red bell peppers for color variation.

Enjoy!