- One of the things I miss most about being vegetarian is great chicken or tuna salad. There are all kinds of meat substitutes out there, but none quite get it right. However, I discovered that using mashed up chickpeas as the protein actually makes for a really satisfying salad. Of course, the chickpeas don't taste like chicken, but there's something about the texture that hits the spot. With a little tweaking, you can make this taste either like chicken salad or tuna salad. :)
Chickpea Salad
- Ingredients:
- 2 cans (drained) chickpeas
- 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1/3 cup chopped dill pickles
- 1 T. pickle juice salt and pepper to taste
- 2" square of nori (optional)
Directions:
Mash up the chickpeas with a potato masher, or by blending briefly in a food processor. They should have some chunky bits still, but be pretty creamy when stirred. Add the remaining ingredients (except nori) and stir to combine. This recipe makes about nine 1/3 cup servings, but that will vary a tad if you use more or less onion and pickle. If you want this to taste more like tuna salad, then add the nori to the food processor with the chickpeas, or grind it up separately and add it to the salad. This will give a slightly fishy flavor like you would have with tuna salad.
Mash up the chickpeas with a potato masher, or by blending briefly in a food processor. They should have some chunky bits still, but be pretty creamy when stirred. Add the remaining ingredients (except nori) and stir to combine. This recipe makes about nine 1/3 cup servings, but that will vary a tad if you use more or less onion and pickle. If you want this to taste more like tuna salad, then add the nori to the food processor with the chickpeas, or grind it up separately and add it to the salad. This will give a slightly fishy flavor like you would have with tuna salad.
