Moroccan chickpea salad

Craving a salad? Try this Moroccan chickpea salad for an outdoor feast

• COOKING TIME: 20mins
• CHEF: Kate Turner
• SERVES: 6
• PHOOGRAPHY: Samantha Pinto

Ingredients

For the chickpeas

• 
  1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 
  2 tsp olive oil
• 
  1 tsp cumin
• 
  1 tsp paprika
• 
  ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 
  ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• 
  ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to your desired level of spiciness)

  For the salad 

• 
  1 eggplant, sliced
• 
  1 tbsp olive oil
• 
  1 cup couscous, cooked
• 
  1½ cups baby tomatoes, halved
• 
  ½ cucumber, sliced into ribbons
• 
  ¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
• 
  1½ cups rocket
• 
  ½ cup coriander

  For the vinaigrette 

• 
  2 tbsp lemon juice
• 
  2 tsp honey
• 
  1 tsp mustard
• 
  ⅓ cup olive oil
• 
  Salt and pepper

Method

1

For the chickpeas:

a. Preheat the oven to 200°C

b. Toss the chickpeas with the oil and spices and spread them out on a baking tray. Bake for 10–15 minutes until the chickpeas are crispy and golden brown.

2

For the salad:

a. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Brush the eggplant slices with oil and grill for 2 minutes a side until just cooked. Remove from the heat and cut into bite-sized pieces.

b. To assemble the salad, toss the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, apricots, parsley and eggplant together in a large bowl, then top with rocket and fresh coriander.

3

For the vinaigrette:

a. Whisk the lemon juice, honey and mustard together until combined. Gradually whisk in the olive oil and season to taste. Drizzle over the salad.