Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Chickpea Salad - Easy Vegan Dish


Since I became a vegetarian I've been learning how to cook with dry beans and lentils. Growing up I wasn’t a big fan of beans, but since I am Cuban my grandmother added beans to her dishes and my mom’s favorite meal is black beans and rice (Moros y Cristianos or Congri). As I begin my vegan journey I’ve grown to appreciate beans and constantly learning new ways cook them. They are full of protein so they keep you full, are versatile so they go with any meal, and dry beans are 100% natural. They are also super cheap! Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are my favorite, so I added some veggies to make a wonderful chickpea salad.

In this recipe I use dry beans but you can substitute for can beans. Most people are afraid to cook dry beans, but it super easy and healthier for you than can beans - just need a little planning. The benefits of eating dry beans (fresh, no BPA, preservatives or chemicals) are well worth the time. A little bit of beans goes a long way because they grow in water. 1/3 cup of dry beans equals 1 cup of cooked beans. 

Grab your beans and veggies and lets make this chickpea dish!


You will need:
1 bag of dry Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 red onion
1 green pepper
EVO oil 
Optional: Feta cheese or mozzarella cheese
You can add other veggies (corn)


Kitchen items:
Cutting knife and board
Boiling pot
Drainer


Cooking dry beans is easy: rinse, soak, rinse and cook. 
If you are using can beans skip down to step 6.

1. Rinse dry beans 

2. Soak dry beans for 8-12 hours (overnight is best) in a big bowl. Fill the bowl with water and leave plenty of room because they will double in size OR for every 1 cup of dry beans add 2 cups of water
                                   
3. Once they are done soaking, rinse the beans again in cold water

4. Now they are ready to be cooked! 

Add the beans to a big pot. For 1 cup of dry beans add 2 cups of water OR Once in the beans are in water add 2 inches of water above the bean level

5. With a lid, start to cook the chic peas on high heat until it starts to boil, then let it simmer on low heat for 1.5 - 2 hours.  Beans are done once they are tender

6. In the meantime dice vegetables and add to mixing bowl 
 7. Add seasoning and olive oil - (optional: add lemon or lime juice)

8. Once beans are tender, drain and rinse in cold water.

9. Add to diced vegetables and mix

10. The finished dish!


To make the wooden serving piece/coaster checkout my DIY blog post. 

This dish makes an awesome meal, side dish, or salad topper. Beans are loaded with protein so this is a great source of protein for vegetarians/vegans. 

Enjoy!! 


 What are you favorite bean recipes??






1 comment:

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