This is a bright and immensely flavourful variation on a chickpea salad, ideal for eating with a loaf of buttered sourdough toast from Batard Bakery in Vancouver (kindly gifted by one of our guests over the weekend at the cocktail party Ian and I hosted). I went for a long walk on an empty stomach along Jericho Beach this afternoon to take pictures in the rain, and I was in full need of comfort and carbohydrates by the time I got home. I put this together in less than 10 minutes, leaving it to sit for about 15 minutes while I dried off and made a cup of Constant Comment tea (thank you again, to another guest at the party – I always have trouble finding this particular kind of tea). This chickpea salad would be wonderful in a warm pita with some extra dressing or tzatziki, I can imagine it would taste pretty wonderful alongside some cumin-rubbed lamb as either a hot meal or a cold spread that demands a thorough pick through. You can add more lemon juice if you’d like, the zest would also serve to brighten the taste of the dressing even further. A pinch of cayenne wouldn’t be remiss here, nor would some barely blanched broccoli florets and toasted sunflower seeds.

chickpea and cucumber salad with a creamy lemon, parsley, and avocado dressing:

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1 medium-sized cucumber, sliced into thin or quarter half moons

1/4 of a red onion, finely diced

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 avocado, flesh scooped out with a spoon

Generous 1 cup of parsley, loosely torn

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup of olive oil

1. In a large bowl mix together the chickpeas, cucumber, and red onion.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor, scraping down the sides several times in order to ensure a perfectly creamy dressing. It’s entirely OK if the parsley isn’t completely blitzed, in fact I think it makes the salad look more appetizing.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and stir to coat. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving – the lemon in the dressing will help prevent avocado dressing discolouration, so it will keep in the fridge for a few days after it’s made.

My friend and I were talking about all of the music our parents listened to while we were growing up, it seems like we have a lot of common musical tastes now because of what was on the record player while we were children; I also have a very clear memory of being told “Don’t dance too close to the record player! No jumping near the record player, the record will skip!”. Now as an adult I can very easily admit that the excellent music I heard at home absolutely formed my relationship to music as I currently experience it. I also never jump or dance around the record player, ever.

English Beat – Save it For Later