Marinated Chickpea Salad

If you are anything like me, by this point in the school year you need a few more recipes up your sleeve to pack in lunches! I have one for you that is fabulously healthy and delicious.

In the midst of a fairly busy life, one dot on my calendar that I always look forward to is the monthly meeting of our Mother Daughter Book Club. I am not sure those words should all be capitalized according to the rules of standard grammar but in my head, they need to be capitalized because this group is that important to me.

Close to two years ago my oldest daughter, Kitely, read a book called The Mother Daughter Book Club and asked me if we could form one of our own. I loved the idea and helped her arrange the first meeting but honestly figured this would be something that would be fun for a bit but as a skeptical adult didn’t think our group would have the same staying power that the fictional girls in the novel had. I am so very happy to report that I was way wrong about this!

The girls decided together that they wanted to keep the club small so there are only four daughters and four mothers in it. We meet once a month and whoever is hosting the meeting chooses the book. We all read the book and the girls bring questions that drive our discussion. It is so much fun to see what we learn about each girls’ personality from her choices. Often when the girls are talking about the books the space seems so sacred and I find myself eternally grateful that my daughter chooses this activity for a Friday night. I love imagining where these girls will be a couple of years from now and what they will choose to read. I cannot even fathom what a hole there will be in my life once these girls leave home and we no longer meet so I usually quickly reign my thoughts in and focus on just how lovely this feels in the moment.

In addition to choosing the book, the hostess (with lots of help from the moms!) provide the meal for the club so consequently, I have collected plenty of good recipes over the past couple of years! The last time we met, my sweet friend Daphne made a chickpea salad for our main dish and everybody, including the eleven and twelve-year-olds, loved it. In fact, when I told Kitely I was making it for our lunches she squealed. Squealed. Over chickpeas. That should tell you how good this recipe is!

Daphne found this recipe in a Martha Stewart cookbook and said she has been making it for quite awhile. I snapped a picture of it to remember the basic recipe and then made a few changes to it to make it my own. One of the things I did to save time was to use canned chickpeas as opposed to cooking my own. I was worried about them being mushy but I solved that problem by using Bush’s chickpeas. Bush’s is always my go-to for canned beans and they never disappoint! Feel free to cook your own chickpeas according to the directions on a bag of dried ones. For another time saver I switched out the fresh herbs for dried Greek seasoning. You could use any brand here, but I love, love, love the kind from Zoe’s Kitchen!

I hope you enjoy it as much as our Mother Daughter Book Club does!

Marinated Chickpea Salad (click for printable recipe)

1 garlic clove, minced (I use the kind that you squeeze from a bottle)

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

¾ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I love the kind I buy at Zoe’s Kitchen)

2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed well and drained

1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced finely

½ green bell pepper, diced finely

1 cup carrots, julienned (I buy the kind shredded in a bag to save time)

2 shallots, diced finely

grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (I don’t add these until right before serving)

Whisk first seven ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Combine all remaining ingredients except for tomatoes in a bowl and top with dressing mixture. Allow to refrigerate overnight and add tomatoes just before serving.