Lemony walnut chickpea salad with goat’s cheese
I’m back on dry land, hurrah! However I now go by the name ‘captain’ (or just cap’n to those who know me well) and I smoke a pipe. I’ve also been trying to grow a beard, but so far no luck.
With minimal cooking facilities on the boat (an oven that barely worked, and about six inches of worktop), we were forced to be a bit creative, or resort to cheese sandwiches three times a day for a week. As much as I love cheese, even that doesn’t appeal to me. So instead, I made a chickpea sandwich filling. And I guess I’m now on a bit of a chickpea salad kick, because it’s only taken me two days to make another version – this time a lemony walnut chickpea salad with goat’s cheese, red onion and rocket (that’s arugula to some of you, and ‘that frilly green stuff’ to others).
This salad / sandwich filling has a little bit of everything – sweetness, tanginess, crunchiness, pepperiness (are these even words?), and it all goes together perfectly. Just a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise holds it all together nicely, but if you’re one of those (weird) mayonnaise haters, you could always experiment with using yoghurt or sour cream instead. I served mine stuffed inside a pitta bread, but you could have it plain or with salad leaves if you prefer. It’d pack up nicely into a lunch box too.
A quick question: does anyone here soak and cook their own chickpeas? It seems like an awful lot of hassle to me so I’ve only ever used tinned chickpeas, but I wonder if I should give the dried ones a go. Do they actually taste much different / better? I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to convince myself to do it unless they’re significantly better…
Anyway, enjoy the recipe!
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained (240g when drained)
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (or 1/4 larger red onion)
- 50g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
- 20g rocket (arugula), roughly chopped
- 50g walnuts, chopped
- 2tbsp mayonnaise (heaped)
- 2tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well. Season to taste. Serve on bread, in a pitta pocket, or with salad.
Whoa! These look INCREDIBLE! Literally perfect dinner for a post run meal! So much nutrition, and goats cheese is my absolute favorite! I need to try these right now. YUM!
Hi Becca! I can’t wait to try this! It looks so delicious .
-Gina from Always Savory
This recipe is fantastic! Just what I needed.. a taste of summer on a cold Chicago day! Love your blog:)
I am a big lover of chickpeas, both for their health benefits and general deliciousness! This sandwich sounds amazing, beautifully balanced deliciousness. Love the photos too! x
Delicious. Ate with toasted walnut bread which worked well. Love your site. Veggie paradise.
That sounds fantastic! I actually haven’t made this recipe in a while, I think I’ll have to make it again soon and try it your way :) thanks for stopping by! Hope to have you back soon!
This is a fabulous website! I found you via a recipe in Pinterest and i have bookmarked your site. Writing from Chicago…
THank you!
I make a similar chickpea salad but it doesn’t have the walnuts or goat cheese. I’ll have to give your version a try! Pinned!
Hi, Becca! This recipe is amazing (well … not surprising since it includes goat cheese, right!?!?). I love the improved texture of beans and chickpeas that have been soaked, but I really just don’t normally have the time (or … ahem … have not planned far enough ahead …) so I pretty much always use canned. Hey – if it can get this salad into my mouth faster, it’s worth it! :D
I’m loving the look of this. Chickpeas in sambos are my new day-dream subject of choice. I’m thinking about zucchini, chickpeas and parmesan. But I like the look of this too, so will give it a try.
I’ve never tried using dried beans, although I remember my mother doing it long ago. Too long ago for me to remember. This salad sounds great, really bright flavors for summer. I am one of those weird mayo haters, but I think sour cream would work well :)