Lemony Chickpea & Cucumber Salad

This Moroccan flavour inspired salad comes together quickly and is the perfect balance of sweet, savoury and spicy flavours with the delicious protein & fibre from chickpeas!

Course Salad

Key Ingredient Chickpeas

Dietary Need Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings cups (1.25 L)

Calories 313

Ingredients

Dressing

2 lemons, zest & juice (see notes)
2 Tbsp (30 mL) tahini
2 Tbsp (30 mL) canola oil
2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground turmeric
1/2 tsp (2 mL) red chili flakes, optional
salt & black pepper, to taste

Salad

1 can (19 oz/540 mL) chickpeas, drained & rinsed (yields 2 cups/500 mL cooked chickpeas)
1 cup 250 mL cooked brown rice (see notes)
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) chopped cucumber, halved & seeded
1/4 cup (60 mL) thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup (80 mL) toasted almond slices (see notes)
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped dried apricots or golden raisins
2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro or dill, optional

Instructions

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Add small amounts of warm water to adjust the consistency if too thick. Season with salt and black pepper.
In a large bowl, combine salad ingredients and toss in dressing, coating evenly.
Adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, lemon juice) if needed. Enjoy!

Notes

Not using fresh lemons? You can replace the fresh juice with 1/4 cup (60 mL) bottled lemon juice and for the zest, 1/2-1 tsp (2-5 mL) lemon extract or an additional 2-4 Tbsp (30-60 mL) bottled lemon juice.
Other cooked grains like barley, quinoa, millet or farro can be used in place of the rice.
To toast any nut or seed, shake them back and forth in a skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Watch carefully as they can burn quite easily.
Almond allergy? Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds can be used!

Nutrition