Salads
Warm Roast Chickpea & Tomato Salad
A warm salad with a balance of textures and tastes. Fresh sharp tomatoes are paired with moreish, crunchy spiced chickpeas that add texture and protein. The dressing is a simple citrus tahini affair and brings it all together.
Cook's notes
Take care with the chickpeas as they can sometimes pop and spit when roasted, as the moisture is driven away as steam. Keep them at arm’s length while removing them from the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 tin chickpeas
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 400g tomatoes
- pinch of sugar
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
- 1 red onion
- 1 pepper
- 2 garlic cloves - add to taste
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 100g spinach
- small bunch of mint
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Method
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Step 1
Before you start, preheat your oven to 200°C fan/Gas 7.
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Step 2
Drain the chickpeas well and throw them into a roasting tin with the spices, some salt and pepper to season and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing them halfway through.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes into thin wedges. Toss in a large bowl with the oregano, a pinch of sugar, and a little squeeze of lemon. Season with salt and pepper and leave to one side to macerate.
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Step 4
Thinly slice the onion. Deseed and thinly slice the pepper. Finely chop the garlic (use both cloves, or just one, depending on your liking for it).
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Step 5
In a small bowl, stir the tahini with the juice from half the lemon and a few (3- 4) tbsp of water to loosen it to a creamy dressing consistency - persevere, it will come together. Season with a little salt.
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Step 6
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Fry the onion and pepper on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the spinach and stir until just lightly wilted in. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Step 7
To serve, use the pepper and spinach as a base, drizzled with a little of the tahini dressing, topped with the chickpeas and tomatoes, with some more tahini dressing and freshly shredded mint leaves to finish.