This recipe happened because I wanted an addition to a carby delicious new potato & grilled asparagus dish (recipe coming soon!) , that I was really wanting to make, but knew there really wasn’t much in the cupboard.
Fortunately I always and I mean ALWAYS have tins of chickpeas in the house, there are a few ingredients that make me twitchy if I don’t have them in, and this is one of them. They’re so versatile, and a brilliantly easy protein addition to loads of dishes.
And as I walked up the hill home from the tube I suddenly remembered I had made some harissa from my home-grown Locoto chillies, that was still sitting preserved under a layer of oil in the fridge. So a quick stop via the local mini supermarket to pick up some rocket and this was born. Sadly, our own salad leaves are suffering from a slug invasion… Nightmare! Replanting starts this Saturday, and we’ll be stepping up our slug prevention program.
This is a really easy dish to throw together simply half the tomatoes, toss them & the chickpeas in harissa, oil & lemon & bake in a moderate oven, whilst you get on with whatever else you’re making.
And best of all? This salad, if you keep the Chickpeas/Tomato mix away from tender leaves, is even better the next day. Perfect for tossing together for a picnic, or taking to a BBQ.
I can guarantee you that this little ad-hoc salad I made up on the spur of the moment, will be on high repeat for the whole summer.. and beyond.
- 1 tin chickpeas
- 2 tsp harissa (or more if you are brave! Either use my recipe, or buy it in jars)
- Around 20 cherry tomatoes , halved.
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs lemon juice plus a bit extra to squeeze over later
- 5-6 sprig fresh thyme , or a tsp dried
- salt
- Rocket or other leaves such as watercress or baby spinach- approx a handful per person
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Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/ 200C
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Rinse the chickpeas
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Chop the tomatoes in half
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Whisk together the oil, lemon juice & harissa
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Put everything except the rocket/salad leaves into an oven dish and swish around so it's all covered in the harissa oil dressing, making sure everything is in a single layer
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Pop in the oven, turning at around 15 mins
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Remove from the oven when the tomatoes are de-hydrated & the chickpeas have started to crisp but are still tender in the middle.
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Leave to cool for 5-10 mins
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Lay out a dish with the salad leaves & squeeze some lemon over.
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Pop the chickpea & tomato mix over the top & serve.
NOTE: If you're making this for a picnic/to take somewhere/to serve the next day, keep the chickpea & tomato mix separate from the leaves & mix together once you are about to eat.
Tofu Scramble Breakfast Burrito
Sounds yummy!
You could try used coffee grounds to deter your slugs, or beer or wine traps if you want to actually kill them. Or the permy trick of interplanting in lots of different places, or with a few other sacrificial plants (large leafed mustard can be good as they will hide in the lbase of the leaves in the day so you know where to find them ) but I suspect ‘the gardener’ probably knows all this stuff anyway.
My rocket is naturalised now and pops up every year, but does tend to taste pretty strong due to sparse water in the Aussie climate.
Thanks Cate! We’re trying a combo of things. The beer/wine traps I think bring MORE slugs slithering our way, so have kind of given up on those. I’ve used nemotodes, which is expensive & only kind of works- and have used eggshells- again, not brilliant. What seems to work best is making sure the plants are quite strong before planting out- and planting LOADS. We persevere!
This looks absolutely delicious! The second I saw the pics I thought it would be so perfect for a summer picnic!
xo
styleontheside.com
Let me know if you try it Caroline! It’s pretty easy, which is a bonus. x