Description
This pasta salad takes its cue from the Mediterranean diet. With the powerful combo of chickpeas and chickpea pasta, it’s not only a gluten-free dish, but also a hearty, nutrient-dense option that’s bursting with flavor and freshness.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 8oz box of chickpea rotini (we love Banza brand https://www.eatbanza.com/)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbs lemon juice (approximately 1 large lemon)
- 1 tsp dry oregano (or 1 Tbs fresh oregano)
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme (plus a little for a garnish)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 ground black pepper
- 1 small cucumber quartered lengthwise and sliced (should be about 2 cups)
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half (about 2 cups)
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed (organic if you can find them)
- 1 12oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (if you have a larger jar try for about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (this should make about 1 cup)
- 1 cup of dairy-free mozzarella-style shreds (Violife is a brand we use often)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to the directions, until tender (usually 7 minutes or so)
- Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water
- Set the pasta aside to cool to room temperature. A baking sheet works well for this.
- Whisk the oil, lemon juice, thyme, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, red onion, cheese shreds (or crumbles if substituting feta-style – see the notes) and cooled pasta to the bowl and toss to combine
Notes
- this can absolutely hold its own as the main dish, but does nicely combined with some grilled plant-based burgers like Beyond or Impossible.
- dairy-free feta works well as an alternative to the mozzarella-style shreds. Both Follow Your Heart and Violife make very nice plant-based feta.