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Meatless Mondays: Tomato Chickpea Salad

Post and recipe by: Angela Tucker

Question: what is a fruit that is ripe, juicy, and super abundant this time of year?

That’s right, IT’S TOMATO TIME!!!

Whether you planted some in your home garden, you received some in one of those awesome CSA boxes, or you find yourself mesmerized by all the different colours of heirloom varieties at your local farmer’s market, we can all use a quick, versatile and inexpensive recipe using tomatoes.

Let me introduce the Tomato Chickpea Salad.

This is a dish I have been making for a long time, but I never really sat down and wrote it down… until now. Plus, it is really versatile, as I describe in the recipe with my two favourite ways to enjoy it.

This salad would go great with some steamed greens (kale, chard, collard greens for example) and brown rice, or as an addition to a salad.

What is awesome about this recipe is that the combination of ingredients can help your body maximize iron absorption. Iron is used for carrying oxygen throughout your body. This salad gets iron from the chickpeas, but as with any iron we get from plant-based foods it can take a little more work for our bodies to fully absorb this important mineral. That is where vitamin C comes in. This vitamin actually helps your body absorb iron! In this recipe, the vitamin C from the tomatoes and sweet red pepper boost the absorption of iron from the chickpeas. How is that for a team effort?

Bonus: the chickpeas and tomato also provide a healthy dose of potassium, which plays an important role in keeping our blood pressure healthy.

Give this recipe a try, and feel free to get in touch and let me know how it goes!

Tomato Chickpea Salad (Two Ways)

 

Makes: around 4 servings
Time: 10-15 minutes

Salad Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
3 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup sweet red pepper, diced
3 tbsp sweet onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced

Dressing:
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (might also work well with lemon juice)
4 tbsp oil (I used a blend of olive oil and canola oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

For Herby Tomato Chickpea Salad: 1 tbsp fresh chopped basil and 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Herby Tomato Chickpea Salad

Or

For Spicy Tomato Chickpea Salad: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp minced hot pepper, 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional), sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional)

Spicy Tomato Chickpea Salad

Directions:

  1. Combine chickpeas, tomato, sweet red pepper, onion, and garlic in a bowl.
  2. Put the ingredients for the dressing in a jar with a lid and shake to emulsify. Pour dressing on salad ingredients and stir.
  3. From here, you can either make the Basil Tomato Chickpea Salad by folding in the fresh herbs, the Spicy Tomato Chickpea Salad by mixing in the spices and chopped pepper, or you can even enjoy it as is.
  4. That’s it! Enjoy!

Other ideas: Feel free to use whatever herbs/spices you have on hand. You can even try adding different veggies. Leftover cucumber in the fridge? Why not! Ripe and ready avocado? Throw that in! Not big on chickpeas? Try something else, like black beans, white cannellini beans, or lentils.

Nutrition Info:
(For one fourth of the recipe, assessed with no salt added)

Calories: 265
Fat: 15 g
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fibre: 5 g
Protein: 8 g
Sodium: 255 mg
Potassium: 540 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Calcium: 60 mg
Folate:  73 mg
Vitamin C: 40 mg

Angela Tucker is a Registered Dietitian from rural Manitoba. Angela first became vegan for compassionate reasons but soon realized other ways a vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet positively impacts the planet and health. To learn more about her philosophy on food, visit her blog PrairieSprout. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.