Cheesy Chickpea Salad

Yes, this is the chickpea salad creation that's been on my meal plan for the last three weeks . . . and today, I finally got around to making it. It was super-easy, and most of us loved it (Little Sprout said it was just okay). For me, the dressing is not quite perfect, so I'll probably mess around with it a little more next time I make it. But if it's any indication of the result, Big Sprout has had five servings of it throughout the day - and fortunately, there's even some left over for lunch tomorrow.

The idea for this dish started a few weeks ago, when I discovered a small health food store in town. In filling my bags, I picked up a container of non-dairy feta, which we'd never tried before (the nice folks at Whole Foods acted like I was crazy when I asked for it there). Both of my Sprouts are big cheese lovers, so I thought it would be a nice treat since they don't eat dairy cheese anymore. Plus, I'd just seen a recipe that looked really good except for the fact that it called for feta.

Of course, I never found that recipe, so I had to dream up something new for it. Here's how it turned out . . .

Cheesy Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons raw cashews (soaked, if possible)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the salad:

4 cups broccoli florets (lightly steamed and finely chopped)

4 cups cooked chickpeas

1 container vegan feta

1 recipe of basic balsamic dressing

Preparation:

Combine all dressing ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Toss with remaining ingredients, and chill before serving.

Sprout Ratings
Big Sprout - 5 sprouts
Little Sprout - 3 sprouts
Mama Sprout - 4 sprouts
Daddy Sprout - 3.5 sprouts