Chickpeas black peas fruit and nut salad with simple Greek dressing :A refreshing all season salad made with boiled chickpeas, black peas, tomatoes, pear, guava and nuts and special seeds. Are you thinking what I was thinking? Yes! A very healthy and satisfying salad indeed.
This salad is not only healthy but its preparation is very therapeutic. Made in no time and filled with all the good things to complete your day. Tossing and bringing this salad together will really soothe your senses.
It’s my favorite weekend salad. Weekends we don’t usually cook the regular, monotonous and same curry based veggies for lunch. The plan is always to make something light, refreshing and different from the usual boring weekday menu.
I can just have this salad for lunch. For the rest I club either a grilled chicken breast or fried patties and garlic bread or nuggets. It’s fun indeed.Its Gluten Free and Vegan .To make it vegan, just replace the cottage cheese with soy cheese or you may also just omit the cheese.
You can experiment with the dressings really. But the I like to make it with a simple Greek dressing. Fresh garlic and herbs with lemon juice .Simple but bold flavors compliments the flavors of each ingredient well. Fresh crumbled goats cheese gives it the creamy texture.
If you do not happen to have goats cheese then crumble some plain cottage cheese or herb infused cottage cheese. Fresh seasonal produce make it all the more delectable,and guavas being my favorite get a place in my salad by default.
The soft pear adds a bit mushy melt in mouth delight and really gives the firm guava good company. I always use freshly ground black pepper for salads.It does make a difference and gives a nice kick to the flavor.
Last but not the least, dry roast some whole almonds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts . They give the salad a nice bite. Also this is the best way to incorporate seeds, which are good source of Vitamin B1 and E.
- 1 cup Black chickpeas boiled and sived
- 1 cup chickpea boiled and sieved
- 1 tbsp flax seed
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 3-4 tbsp walnuts
- 3-4 tbsp Almonds whole
- 2 Tomatoes deseeded and chopped
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 Guava medium sized
- 1 Pear chopped, medium sized
- 4-5 tbsp cilantro / green coriander
- 3-4 tbsp basil leaves
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano / Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground. You may also grind it in a mortar and pestle
- In a pan dry roast the almonds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts together and keep aside to cool. I prefer putting whole almonds for a nice bite , if you want you can roughly chop them too.
- in another mixing bowl, mix together all the other ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over and toss it well.Add the crumbled cottage cheese / goats cheese.and basil leaves and give a nice mix.
- Now, put the roasted almonds and seeds on top .Garnish with some cilantro or coriander leaves.
- Serve it right aways or chill for about 15 minutes.
This fruit salad is so good! I love how the chickpeas make it hearty and filling, and the dressing is delicious.
This is so packed with nutrition – which you know I LOVE!! – plus so packed with amazing flavors and textures, too! I think, most of all, what makes this salad really unexpected and uniquely special, though, is the pear and the guava! What brilliant additions!
That salad is the perfect one for hot summer days! Great recipe!
This salad has so many different flavours. I would never have thought to add chickpeas with fruit but it looks like it works very well. We are lucky here to have some really amazing goat cheese that I love adding to salads.
Interesting combo and refreshing salad. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing
A deliciously light and easy salad for the season! Sounds so refreshing and satisfying ^_^
What a fantastic salad for a chickpea addition. I always have chickpeas in my pantry and I love using them in different recipes. I haven’t seen black chickpeas yet — I’ll be on the lookout because this salad will be perfect for lunches this week.
What a delightful little salad. I agree throwing it together was sort of therapeutic lol. I like the combination of chock peas with the sweet fruit . The dressing was simple and the perfect touch..my new favorite summer salad.
Talk about craving a salad now. The combination of fruit chickpeas and nuts and seeds has my taste buds tantelized and the addition of the goat cheese and simple dressing just says fresh, summer goodness with a side of healthiness!
Well done!