Ramadan Recipe – Chickpea Salad with sumac onions, peppers, spinach and tomatoes

This is a delicious variation of the Turkish beans salad, Fasulye Piyazi with some more vegetables added to it.  Chickpeas are fantastic paired with cumin (as in hummus), and with sumac infused onions in this refreshing, nutritious salad. If you like greens, add more spinach or pepper here. You can substitute cannellini or your other another cooked beans in this salad instead of chickpeas too.  Best part, this is a wonderful side dish for Ramadan when paired with grilled meat and a simple rice and/or potato meal.  Children love the colors and it’s perfect enhancement for spring Ramadan meals since it is healthy, packed with protein, fiber and carbs that give feelings of satisfaction and decreased hunger.

Author: Ozlem Warren

Recipe type: Vegan, Healthy Salads

Cuisine: Turkish cuisine

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

1 x 14oz can of precooked chickpea / garbanzo beans

1tsp/5ml ground sumac (use more if you are a fan!)

1tsp/5ml ground cumin

½ medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 spring onions/scallions, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

40g/1 ½ oz spinach leaves, washed and roughly chopped

For the dressing:

30ml/2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ juice of lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sprinkle of extra sumac to serve

Flatbread or pita bread to serve

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl, rub a pinch of salt and ground sumac into the onion slices with your hands really well. This will soften the onions and make them more palatable, will also help infuse tangy sumac to the onion slices.
• Place the precooked chickpeas or garbanzo beans on a colander, drain its liquid and rinse over running water. Combine the chickpeas with the onions in the mixing bowl. Stir in the ground cumin and season with salt to your taste, mix well.
• Stir in the chopped tomatoes, peppers, spring onion and spinach into the bowl and combine well with the chickpeas and onion mixture.
• For the dressing; combine the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice in a small container. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste.
  • You can also use a store bought Italian Dressing
• Pour in the seasoning over the salad and combine well. Transfer the salad into a serving plate. Serve with an extra pinch of ground sumac sprinkled over, if you like, with plenty flat breads or pita bread by the side, to mop up the delicious juices.