Salad x 3

Tonight I just wanted a cold plate of food to make up for the muggy, humid day. And when Michael asks ‘what’s for dinner?’, I love to reply, ‘a trio of salads’. He usually mutters it under his breath (but not so low that I can’t hear him say ‘trio of salads….hurumph!). There used to be a little sandwich shop a block or so away from an office I used to work at in Downtown Vancouver and they offered a trio of salads as a lunch option. I always used to think it was such a nice change from the typical soup and sandwich and was struck by how uplifted I felt just looking at the colour on my lunch plate from the variety of ingredients over the three different salads.

So tonight we have Chickpea, Carrot & Parsley Salad, Wheatberry Salad, and Bean Dip. I guess I’m going out on a limb calling my Bean Dip a “salad”, but it could just have easily have been turned into a bean salad if it didn’t have a turn in the food processor.

The recipes are from a variety of sources as noted. Although I’ve written the recipes verbatim, I’ve made some additional notes as you’ll see.

Chickpea, Carrot & Parsley Salad
(recipe from Fine Cooking magazine issue 59)
19-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 2 cups)1 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, very coarsely chopped1 cup loosely packed shredded carrot (from about 1 large carrot)1/2 cup sliced radishes (about 6 medium)1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (about 4)3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice1 tsp. ground corianderKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese or toasted pine nuts (optional)

Put 1/2 cup of the chickpeas in a mixing bowl and mash them into a coarse paste with a potato masher or large wooden spoon. Toss in the remaining chickpeas along with the parsley, carrot, radishes, and scallions. Stir to combine.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, coriander, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Continue whisking while adding the olive oil in a slow stream. Pour over the salad and toss gently. Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste. Top with the feta or pine nuts, if using, and serve immediately.

Note: I like this salad as-is without the addition of the feta or pine nuts. If I feel I want some additional protein, I will add in the feta to the portion I’m eating as my husband isn’t a “cheese guy”. But as far as the pine nuts go – have you seen the price of pine nuts recently? I think it was about a year ago now, perhaps a little longer, when they tripled in price…overnight! Once I used up the big bag of pine nuts I had stored in the freezer, I haven’t ventured to buy anymore in hope the price will drop.


Wheatberry Salad
(recipe from Clean Food cookbook by Terry Walters)

1-1/2 cups wheatberries
Sea salt
4-5 scallions, chopped
1 cup chopped peaches
½ cup currants
¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds
Juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

Rinse wheatberreis, soak in bowl with enough water to cover for at least 1 hour, then drain. In large pot, bring 3-1/4 cups water to boil. Add wheatberries and pinch of salt, reduce heat, cover, an simmer until all water is absorbed (35-45 minutes). Set aside to cool, then fluff with fork.

In large bowl, combine cooked wheatberries with scallions, peaches, currants and toasted sunflower seeds. Toss with lime juice, toasted sesame oil and pinch of salt. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Note: Because the Chickpea Salad recipe called for scallions, I left them out on this recipe. But the main thing I’d like to point out is the wheatberries take an hour or so to cook – and that’s with me soaking them for 10 hours, not just 1 hour as the recipe suggests.

Bean Dip
(recipe from Enlightened Eating cookbook by Caroline Marie Dupont)

½ cup onion (white or red), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 small clove garlic
½ teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 to 2 chili peppers or hot sauce (optional)
Small handful parsley or cilantro
Salt to taste
One 14- or 15-ounce can white kidney beans, or black beans, or romano beans or one cup dried beans cooked

In a food processor, combine onion, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, parsley, and optional peppers.

Chop finely and gradually add drained and rinsed beans. Keep some liquid if needed for desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with baked corn chips, whole grain crackers, or raw crackers.

Note: I used red onion for this recipe as I had some lovely organic ones to use up and I went with black beans, which I had cooked a while ago, portioned out, and froze for just such a recipe. Because I didn’t have any liquid from the beans, I just used water to get the consistency I wanted. Additionally, I added the optional hot sauce (Tabasco – just a few drops) and cilantro is one of my favourite herbs so used it here. You can really change up the flavours in this recipe by altering just a few ingredients – so play.