Middle East Salad

I know salads are good for you.  I know I should eat them more.  I just hate the work that goes into them.  It seems you wash, and chop, and slice forever.   Especially here in Mexico, where you need to wash your vegetables and fruits very carefully.  The stores sell disinfectant drops here that most people use: dilute in water and then let your veggies soak for about a half hour then air dry.  It can be time consuming.  And patience is not one of my best qualities.

This salad doesn’t require a lot of cleaning or chopping and I love it.  I love it even more the next day.  My loves-to-cook childhood friend gave me this recipe.  At the top of it she typed “I just finished making this and remembered that I mentioned it to you before”.  I must have hounded asked her a few times for it.   I’m grateful she’s patient with me and likes to share.  Fun fact, she also still will organize my house when she visits to make it more efficient.  My clothing gets color-coordinated in my closet and my kitchen may get straightened up.  There’s no way I take offense to this, she’s good and it and loves to do it.  I won’t stop that kind of passion.

Sometimes I feel guilty when something that is so simple tastes so great.  I need to stop that.  I came home today and made this in about ten minutes.  My teenage son, who was making himself bacon and cheese quesadillas, looked over at my salad and said “well that looks good, can I have some of that?”  Score for vegetables!

What’s best is it tastes even better the next day.  Make extra for lunch and you’ll be saving money and eating right.  Maybe just keep those raw onions out, unless you enjoy working alone!

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TAB olive oil
• 2 TAB red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced or whole
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (can substitute parsley)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS:

Combine first five ingredients for salad dressing and whisk well.  In a large bowl, add chickpeas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Pour dressing and toss.  Add onion, dill, and feta and salt to taste if necessary.  Toss, refrigerate, and cover if not inhaling right away.

Serves 4,