Chickpea Sumac Salad

Chickpea Sumac Salad

Chili powder Eat your veggies Main dish Side dish Single-origin cured sumac Vegan Vegetarian
Chickpea Sumac Salad

Chickpea Sumac Salad

By Erica Perez

Servings

Serves 6 as a side dish

When we first got samples of our new single-origin cured sumac into the shop earlier this year, we were so excited about their flavor that we pulled staffers into our office to sprinkle the berries into their palms. Taste this! It was fun to watch everyone's reaction to the burst of tart flavor.


These coarsely chopped berries are cured in salt rather than dried, making them juicy and packed with flavor. Sprinkle them as a finish anywhere you want fruity acidity, such as this summery chickpea salad adapted from the Kitchn.


Serve it up as a BBQ side dish, as we did, alongside grilled chicken and hummus (also sprinkled with sumac).


I used a tablespoon of chili powder, which gave it just a perfect amount of kick for my taste. Some might prefer a little less heat.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups uncooked chickpeas or 4 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 large red onion, sliced thin

  • 2 tablespoons single-origin cured sumac plus more for sprinkling

  • 1 tablespoon Oaktown Spice Shop chili powder

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 large lemons, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  • 5 to 6 sprigs fresh mint

Directions

  1. If using dried chickpeas (highly recommended!), soak the chickpeas overnight.
  2. Drain the soaked chickpeas. In a large stockpot, cover the chickpeas with fresh water. Add the garlic cloves and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 to 2 hours, or until just tender but not falling apart. Spread on a large baking sheet to cool.
  3. Peel and quarter the onion. Shave it as thin as possible. (I used my grater.) Stir in the sumac, chili powder, and salt. Stir the spices and salt into the onions for several minutes. Drain any liquid.
  4. Add the chickpeas and chopped parsley to the onions and toss everything thoroughly. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and pomegranate syrup and add it to the salad. Toss and season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until serving.
  5. Before serving, finely chop the mint leaves and sprinkle along with more sumac over the salad.

Chickpea Sumac Salad

Chickpea Sumac Salad

COMMENTS

  • Lisa K on

    Thank you for the great vegan recipe! This will be a perfect addition to bring along to summer concerts in the park! I can’t have chili powder so I just omitted it and used a date syrup since I could not find my pomegranate molasses. It’s delicious on its own, but I’m thinking that I’ll try it in a whole wheat pita next.

  • Valeria on

    I noticed the comment about sugar in pomegranate molasses syrup and knowing that it is not what we think of syrup usually where the fruit is preserved in a sugar syrup, rather it is extracted from the pomegranite and no other sugar is present. In fact there are anti diabetical properties of pommegranite molasses.. so I wanted to share the study in Lebenon with you… It is a different way of thinking of this wondeful ingredient similar to fruit having fructose but is offset and naturally balanced with the fiber and all antioxidents that products with fructose dont have….I do think though it is probably as far as sugar simailar to balsamic vinegar… https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212429221006659?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=88b78061fb4a67be

  • Alex on

    Such a great dish!! I just used canned chickpeas in a bit of a rush and it turned out great. Served over rice as my lunch throughout the week

  • Robert Marshall on

    Made this yesterday evening. For some reason I was out of regular chili powder so ended up using your Allepo Chili instead. Just a touch of heat, which was nice. Also, used Meyer Lemons from my yard, which are not nearly as sour as normal lemons.

    Turned out really nice, and would go good with some kind of Middle Eastern chicken dish.

    Just had some more for dinner tonight. The onions have softened over night, and the beans seem to be a little firmer after sitting in the fridge over night. I also think that more dressing would be helpful if this is going to be kept overnight.

    As is, I’d give it a 3.5/5, and will probably make it again, though i’d cut the batch in half since I’m generally only cooking for myself.

  • Marilyn on

    This salad is SO GOOD! The onions really need to be thin. I’m going to try the grater next time. I have been enjoying it all week and love it with a dollop of cottage cheese.

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