Chickpea Salad Recipe

I'm so excited to be taking my first Rouxbe cooking class this year!  I was gifted a six-month "Professional Plant Based Certification" course and am ready to hit the ground choppin!  The course will be an immersion in culinary skill and knowledge development with plant-based cuisine. Heaven knows we can all use a few more fruits and veggies in our diets!

I am only 2% done with the course, but got started cooking right away. The first assignment instructions were: Make one of your "go-to" dishes, part of your regular culinary repertoire.  It can be a simple dish, such as a starter, a soup, a favorite salad, or even a more involved entree, but it must be plant-based. The criteria include that you upload three photos: (1) mise en place shot, (2) shot of recipe in progress, (3) shot of finished dish. Make sure you add a title and description to your assignment. 

So I want to share with you my delish-dish; try it out, you will be so happy you did!

Title: 

Chickpea Salad with Apple, Breakfast Radish, Cucumber, Honey Lemon Vinaigrette and Nutritional Yeast*

*Can be supplemented with Feta for dairy eaters

Description: 

This is a light, and healthy recipe that makes me crave summer all year round.  A great salad to make ahead for a party and just top with either nutritional yeast (or feta).  Enjoy!

 Ingredients for Salad:

1 1/2 cups organic salad mix
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 bunch french breakfast radishes, thinly sliced on the mandoline
1/2 apple, pealed cored and diced
*Nutritional Yeast
*Can be replaced for feta if not dairy-free

Ingredients for Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

Maldon Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions (recipie in progress):

In a small bowl place the lemon juice, honey, 2 pinches of maldon salt, and black pepper.  Whisk to combine.  Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl while whisking, until the dressing is emulsified. Taste.  Season with more salt/pepper to taste.

Place chickpeas, cucumber, radish and apples in a large bowl.  Drizzle with lemon vinaigrette, lightly coating the chickpeas.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste.  Add more vinaigrette, salt and pepper as necessary. 

To serve, scoop the chickpea salad on a bed of fresh organic greens.  Top with a generous amount of nutritional yeast.  Finish with a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper.

And there you have it, my first assignment done, and in my belly!  Try it out, what would you grade it?