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
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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.
