Chickpea Salad with Goat Cheese, Olives and Arugula

The theme for this month's No Croutons Required challenge is chickpeas. As warmer weather is finally upon us here in London, Ontario, I decided to make a salad rather than a soup. I do enjoy soup year round, but I wanted to celebrate the sunny weather with a Mediterranean style dish. Easy to prepare, but packed full of flavour, this salad will be on the menu again for sure. I do recommend you use top quality olives and goat cheese. Feta could be used instead of goat cheese if desired, though I rather enjoyed the creamy texture of the goat cheese.

Chickpea Salad with Goat Cheese, Olives and Arugula

1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas (roughly 2/3 cup dried beans)
1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of finely chopped fresh garlic
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 small tomatoes, chopped
generous half cup of pitted kalamata olives
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
Juice from 1 lemon or 2 limes
1/2 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon of paprika
dash of cayenne
dash of chili powder
a few handfuls of arugula (rocket)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, transfer to a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer until the chickpeas are buttery soft - roughly one hour. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and begins to brown.

While the onion is cooking, combine the chickpeas (garbanzo beans), parsley, goat cheese, olives, tomatoes, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and lime juice in a large bowl. Set aside.

Add the garlic to the pan with the onions and stir and fry for about one minute.

Remove from the heat and mix into the chickpea salad. Add sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste and a bit more olive oil if desired.

Serve over fresh arugula leaves, along with some crusty bread for a very satisfying lunch or dinner.

Other chickpea creations from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen you are sure to enjoy:
Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Hummus with Goat Cheese
Chickpeas and Paneer in a Spicy Creamy Cashew Gravy
Scrambled Chickpea Flour with a Fiery Red Chili Paste
Chickpea and Brown Rice Patties

On the top of the reading stack: Thai and South-East Asian Food & Cooking by Deh-Ta Hsiung, Becky Johnson and Sallie Morris

Audio Accompaniment: Mark Hollis