Theme: Picnic Hamper Dishes
Dish: Broccoli Chickpea Salad
It has been an a busy week and I didn't have anything ready for day 3 of the marathon. I wanted to make simple cucumber sandwiches, but of course, I didn't have any sandwich bread at home. As I was wondering what to make, I remembered seeing this simple broccoli-chickpea salad recipe by Sarah Carey and thought it would be perfect to make for a picnic.
This salad is very simple to make and is almost a no-cook one, except for steaming the broccoli (and cooking the chickpeas if you are not using the ones from the can), there is not much cooking involved. But for the minimum effort involved, it tasted amazing -- I was snacking on it while making it and then for lunch and then the leftovers for snack. 
On another note, thank you all for sharing your cooking styles on my last week's post. It looks like most of us are multi-taskers and have more than one thing going on at a time. This week I would love to know 'if you taste everything you make before serving??' As for me, I don't usually taste unless it is a dish I'm making for company or if I feel like I added something more than needed in it. I know some people who taste at every stage of cooking and some who never do. So which side do you fall? Please share in the comments.
Ingredients:
Broccoli - 2cups, cut into florets
Chickpeas - 1cup, cooked (rinsed and drained if using canned chickpeas)
Scallions - 3, chopped
Cilantro - ¼cup, finely chopped (Original recipe used parsley)For the Dressing:
Dijon Mustard - 1tsp
Lemon zest - 1tsp
Lemon juice - 1tbsp
Honey - 1tsp
Extra virgin Olive Oil - 3tbsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste
Method:
- Steam broccoli until tender, about 5~6 minutes. I microwave the broccoli for 2~3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.
- Add the chickpeas, scallions and cilantro. Mix well and set aside.
- To make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil, while stirring continuously, until the dressing emulsifies.
- Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture, mix gently and let sit for 15~20 minutes for the flavors to meld.
