Summer Blueberry and Chickpea Salad

Everyone views summer as a great time for salads; the fresh ingredients paired with a light dressing really hits the spot when it’s hot. For me salads are all about fresh ingredients so I try to find recipes that incorporate whats in season - there is nothing worse than a tomato in January - they are pale in color and taste like cardboard no matter where you have purchased them. 

This year we planted red cabbage and honestly I’m not sure what I was thinking. I like red cabbage but I’m struggling to figure out what to do with 4 large heads of cabbage. Actually I’m still working on head #1 and I feel like the other 3, which are still in the garden, are taunting me every time I go outside. 

In addition to red cabbage I had some blueberries in the fridge, some hemp hearts and greens so I entered the ingredients into the Pinterest search bar and poof the recipe for Summer blueberry and chickpea salad recipe showed up - so I gave it a try. Dan loved it - actually we’ve had it 2 additional times this year and I find him pulling it out of the fridge to snack on later. 

Shout out to Running on Real Food for the recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

TAHINI MAPLE DRESSING

4 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp water (use more as needed to adjust consistency)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

CHICKPEA SALAD (PER SERVING)

1 cup very finely sliced red cabbage (use a mandolin if you have one)

1/4 cup dried cranberries 

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or other nut or seed of choice 

1/2 cup chickpeas

2 handfuls of mixed salad greens, arugula or spinach

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the tahini maple dressing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. You can add a bit of extra water to adjust the consistency as needed.

Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl then top with the tahini maple dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

NOTES

The tahini dressing makes enough for 4 salads, adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly.