Meatless Monday recipe from Marilu’s table * Chickpea & cherry tomato salad
Here’s another warm weather meal for those days when you want a lighter meal.
Use your favorite salad greens – or the ones you’re getting from the farmer’s market right now. For added personality, use some arugula and some parsley for part of the salad greens.
We’ve used many different grains in this recipe – whatever we have on hand, leftover from a previous meal. Wheatberries are nice and chewy and a nice match with the chickpeas, but if you have brown rice or quinoa or something else in your fridge or freezer, use it up here. (If you cook a double recipe of grains every time you make them, you can freeze the extra for later use. Just cool and put the leftovers in a freezer weight zipper bag. Freeze it flat for easy storage.)
If you have other salad veggies in your fridge, go ahead and add them. We especially like leftover cooked (and cooled) green beans and cucumbers in this salad – but whatever you love will work.
You may want to double the dressing and pass the extra at the table, especially with added veggies.
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Chickpea & Cherry Tomato Salad
adapted from Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You
12 cups salad greens
4 cups cooked wheatberries (cooled)
2 pounds cherry tomatoes (mixed varieties if possible)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
4-5 scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 large bunch cilantro (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Make the dressing in a food processor or blender. With the machine on, drop in a whole clove of garlic and mince it. Turn off the processor, scrape down the sides, add the cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse to combine.
Cut the tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl with the chickpeas. Pour the dressing over the top and toss gently to coat.
Divide the salad greens among six plates. Divide the cooked and cooled wheatberries among six plates, making a flattened circle in the center of each plate. Top with the chickpea and cherry tomato salad. Garnish with a cilantro sprig.
