A Chickpea Salad With A Deliciously Addictive Asian Dressing 

This chickpea salad is something special. The soy and sesame dressing is a really wonderful and intense match for the chickpeas.

Make a big batch and you will find it's also fantastic with noodles, beansprouts or rice. This recipe is enough for a crowd - about 12 portions as a side dish.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
150mls/2/3 cup/5 fl oz sunflower oil
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
80mls/1/3 cup/2.75 fl oz soy sauce
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar or rice vinegar
450g/2¼ cups/1lb dried chickpeas 
2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
1 small carrot, grated
1 small green pepper or ½ a large

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water.  Drain and cook in fresh water until soft.  This can take anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. Rinse with cold water when cooked and set aside until cool.
2. Make the dressing by whizzing together the tahini, garlic, ginger, sunflower and sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar in a food processor.  I like to make this dressing with a food processor or blender because it gives a nice thick and creamy texture but you can just whisk the ingredients together if you prefer.
3. Slice the green pepper very thinly.  I like to cut it in half and use a potato peeler to create lovely thin slivers.
4. Now in a large bowl, stir together the cooked chickpeas, grated carrot, sliced green pepper and sesame seeds. Mix well and then add the dressing to the chickpea salad. You may not need to use all of the dressing so add it gradually, stirring and tasting as you go.

This is an excellent party dish. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance and the salad itself will be fine dressed a few hours in advance.

 

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