Chickpea and Rice Pasta Salad

Photo above is a quick version that doesn't include
the "salad" ingredients listed below. 

Iron Chef: working with limited ingredients

Meredith is experimenting with liming certain foods, so we're getting creative putting together menus. Pizza and pasta appear frequenly on our menu when Jacob is around, and gluten and dairy are high on the "consume less" list. So are tomatoes and onions, two of my staple ingredients (my sister-in-law is now laughing at me, thanks).

Last week, I borrowed bits of a chickpea salad recipe from Moosewood and turned it into a pasta salad. It worked quite well and contained everything we needed in a good meal. I put the onions and tomatoes in my dish only.

Chickpea and Rice Pasta Salad

Chickpeas and dressing

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Pasta

• 1 bag (approx 500g) rice pasta (penne or rotini)
• 1 tsp olive oil

Salad (optional)

• 1 cup broccoli florettes
• 1 cup cucumber, quartered and sliced
  
• 1/4 cup finely minced red onion
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  

1. Combine the ingredients for the chickpeas and dressing and let marinate in the fridge (overnight is best). Toss mixture occasionally to allow flavours to mix.
   
2. Cook pasta following the directions on the package, then drain with cold water, toss with 1 tsp olive oil and set aside.
3. Toss the pasta, salad, chickpeas and dressing.

(inspired by Gingery Marinated Chick Peas from The Moosewood Cookbook)
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen