I love simple recipes. It seems like an obvious statement but I think it merits being mentioned, especially when it comes to this recipe.
It was the week after returning from a weekend trip to Concepción about 6 or 7 south of Santiago by bus. It also happens to be the epicenter of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake which rocked Chile in 2010. I won’t lie and say I didn’t think there would still be destruction in Concepción. As it turns out though, only 2 buildings were really damaged in the city that generated the earthquake that plunged the country into a “state of catastrophe”. Regardless, it was a fun weekend spent making new friends and eating delicious fresh seafood.
However, it was a long trip back and when I returned late Sunday night, I had very few groceries which would allow me to take lunch the next day. Instead, I had to buy an empanada from the little store down the street from our office. Not that I’m complaining, empanadas are one of my favorite Chilean foods these days, but it’s probably not best that I eat them all the time. So after a tasty empanada de queso y champiñón (cheese and mushroom empanada), I made my way down to the grocery store to buy some very basic ingredients for this salad. Already in possession of a large bag of garbanzo beans and some limes which I figured would work fine in place of lemons, I needed only to buy parsley and some parmesan cheese.
Thus purchased, I had everything I needed to make this salad which, I must admit, I didn’t expect too much from given the few ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a tasty and extremely simple salad perfect for a last minute lunch.
Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Fresh Herbs (lightly adapted from Bon Appétit)
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained or ⅔ cup dried garbanzo beans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used fresh lime juice since I had limes on hand)
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, pressed (I omitted the garlic)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Directions:
1) If using dried chickpeas, cook in salted water until just done. (Skip this step if using canned chickpeas)
2) Once cooked combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl.
3) Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly.
4) Season chickpea salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve.
