Chickpea Salad with Toasted Spices and Yogurt Dressing

The first box of the season is always met with anticipation and excitement. I can count on beautiful, purple scallions making an appearance in the first few Angelic Organics boxes. I love the bright burst of color they add to a dish. This salad teases and tantalizes three of your senses – The sounds of the toasted spices sizzling and popping in the pan. The fragrance of the spices and ghee as they collide with the chickpeas. And then, there’s the taste – creamy and cool yogurt, warm and nutty spices and chickpeas. What better way to make use of those gorgeous, purple scallions?

Chickpea Salad with Toasted Spices and Yogurt Dressing
Click here for a print-friendly PDF file (new 2011 design!)

ingredients
1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (1 5 ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup thick Greek yogurt
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
kosher salt
fresh black pepper

first
In a small bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, scallions, cilantro and mint. Set aside. Rinse and drain chickpeas and place in a large bowl. Set aside.

next
In a pan over medium, heat ghee or olive oil. Add mustard seeds and coo for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cumin, fennel and red pepper flake. Continue to stir until spices are fragrant and the mustard seeds start to pop, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. Immediately remove from heat.

Be careful! The hot mustard seeds can sputter and jump, and the cumin seeds can go from toasted to burnt in a flash.

last
Pour warm spices and ghee over chickpeas and stir. Add yogurt dressing, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve warm or room temperature.