Green Salad with Crispy Spiced Chickpeas and Mustard Vinaigrette (Recipe #36)

I know when Jacob and I both like a salad it must be a good one! We both enjoyed this green salad! The star of the salad was the crispy chickpeas. I drained them (reserved the liquid for other use), rinsed them, and laid them out on paper towels in a single layer until they dried. I then fried them in hot oil on the stove until they began to develop a crispy exterior (about 10 minutes). After they finished cooking, I put them on paper towels to drain and then transferred them to a bowl with spices.

While these were cooking, I sliced a red onion and placed that under the broiler until they began charred at the edges. I also prepared the dressing. The dressing consisted of cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar), mustard, maple syrup, lemon zest, vegan mayo, salt, and oil. The dressing came together really well! It was a creamy dressing with a hint of some spice. It reminded me of honey mustard. I assembled my salad by tossing together the chickpeas, red onion, and dressing on top of a bed of lettuce. I also chopped up an avocado, radish, and green onion to top the salads!

I liked the addition of the avocado, radish, and green onion. Next time I make the salad, I will make sure to add all of those again. I felt the avocado was a nice addition--almost a necessary addition. The creaminess and smoothness from the avocado paired well with the crunch and spice in the chickpeas. The excerpt about the recipe explains how it is trying to re-create a bacon-dressed salad. I always appreciate when bacon is paired with avocado, so the addition of avocado felt necessary.

Taste: 7/10--8/10 with the addition of the avocado.

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: Remember to add the avocado!