Mediterranean Chickpea Salad 29 May 08

I’m starting to see a pattern here. I do actually eat more than just garbanzo beans, I promise.
This is one of those salads that I wasn’t really sure I was going to be a fan of before I made it but ended up really liking it. Fresh vegetables, crisp flavors and lots of texture. What’s not to like?

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

2 cups of garbbanzo beans
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 T chopped parsley or cilantro (depending on the flavor you prefer)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 T lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp flaxseed oil (you can just substitute more olive oil if you don’t have flaxseed oil)
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large bowl combine all the above ingredients. Toss to coat well. Let stand for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

 

Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado & Red Cabbage 23 May 08

I dig nachos. A lot. These are a delicious summer, fresh meal and in my opinion are a great stand in for nachos. Goes great with margaritas too!

Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado & Red Cabbage

1 (15 ounce) can black beans (drained)
1/4 cup prepared salsa fresca (you can definately make 1/2 of this recipe but I don’t recommend it…it won’t stick around long either way)
2 T nonfat plain yogurt
1 cup finely diced red cabbage
2 T minced fresh cilantro
2 T finely diced white onion
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1 medium avocado diced
4 corn tortillas
Queso fresca (if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 400. Place tortillas directly on oven rack and cook for approx. 5 minutes on each side.
2. Mash together the black beans and yogurt in a small bowl. Add salsa fresca to black bean mixture.
3. In another bowl, mix together red cabbage, cilantro, onion, lime juice, cumin, salt and avocado.
4. Spread black bean mixture onto cooked tortilla and top with cabbage mixture.
5. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Sometimes I prefer to warm the bean mixture before spreading it on the tortilla, but this is also excellent cold. If you have extra corn tortillas I would suggest brushing them with a little olive oil and salt, cutting into quarters and baking until crisp in the oven…you’ll probably have leftover salsa and fresh, warm tortilla chips are a great compliment to fresh, cold salsa.

Salsa Fresca 23 May 08

Can there be anything bad about fresh, homemade salsa? Made so much easier with a food processor – although you can certainly chop all of the ingredients by hand, you know, if you’ve nothing better to do.

Salsa Fresca

~1 cup fresh packed coarsely chopped cilantro
3 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno chili
7-8 (~2 1/2 pounds) tomatoes, cored and quartered
juice of 1 lime
salt (to taste)

1. Pulse the cilantro and garlic together for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and add the onion and jalapeno and pulse until finely chopped. Add this mixture to a medium bowl.
2. Working in batches, add the tomatoes to the food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to the cilantro mixture.
3. Stir in lime juice and salt to taste.