Chopped Chickpea Salad

Delicious, filling salads don’t require a recipe so much as a smart template and plenty of fresh inspiration and ingredients, which is precisely how this chopped chickpea salad comes together.

• Chickpeas: Canned chickpeas are our pick for convenience, but you can also cook up a batch of dried beans, if you like.
• Chopped greens: We’re partial to crunchy romaine, spicy arugula, or crisp red cabbage. You can even toss in some fresh herbs.
• Red onion: This brings a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of bite. Rinse them under cold water if you want a milder flavor.
• At least 2 chopped vegetables: Tomatoes, cucumbers, diced zucchini, corn — it’s all fair game.
• More protein: Give your salad an extra boost of protein with cheese, sliced hard-boiled egg, or nuts.
• Dressing: The red wine vinaigrette listed below goes with pretty much everything, although you can also swap in another favorite.

INGREDIENTS

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup
• red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves
• garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon
• Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon
• kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup
• olive oil

Greek Salad Version

• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1 medium cucumber, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
• 3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup small-dice red onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to give the garlic time to mellow. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is emulsified.
2. Make the salad: Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.