Chickpea Salad with Carrots, Walnuts, and French Feta  6-22-08 GF

The other day, I grew determined. I intended to find a place where I could buy a cup of something hot to drink, fire up the wi-fi to work on the computer, and eat something more substantial than a banana. Gluten-free living in Seattle is far easier than it is in other cities - or so I have been told - but still, this seemed like a snarl worse than the freeway in the mornings.

It took a trek to four places, with parking delays at each one, before I found my new nirvana: Remedy Teas. This calm, green-walled place contains a hundred teas or more. Better for me, they have gluten-free carrot muffins in the glass case, as well as a salad of spinach, walnut, cucumbers, and chickpeas.

It’s amazing what we take for granted.

That evening, I invented this concoction. I love chickpeas. Truly, I could eat them every day. Most days, I just squeeze a little lemon juice atop them, drizzle a glug of olive oil, crunch some kosher salt between my fingers, and top it all with pepper. An afternoon of clean eating and a sigh of relief. If I am feeling decadent, I add in bites of fresh mozzarella. It doesn’t take much more than that to make me happy.

However, the next time you take out some chickpeas, you might want to throw in some carrots cut slim, a handful of raw walnuts, and arugula leaves torn in shreds. Top it with salty, creamy French feta and a splash of sherry-walnut vinaigrette, and you might feel better than you have in days.

Shauna James Ahern

SERVINGS
2

INGREDIENTS
For the salad:
2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ cup raw walnuts
2 carrots, julienned
handful French feta, crumbled
½ cup arugula, shredded into small pieces
kosher salt
cracked black pepper

For the Sherry-Walnut Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ cup walnut oil

PREPARATION
1. Combine the chickpeas, walnuts, carrots, salt and pepper.

2. In a blender, combine the sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Mix them well. Slowly, slowly drizzle in the olive oil as the blender is running. When the liquids have blended into a coherent mixture (known as emulsifying), stop the blender.

3. Drizzle salad with s small spurt of vinaigrette and toss. Compose in the bowl and add the French feta.