10 Minute Farmer’s Market Chick Pea Salad

6 servings

10 minutes prep time

5-7 minutes cook time

This flavorful salad assembles harmoniously with the seasonal produce so abundant at the height of summer. Just a quick trip to the market turned my plain garbanzo beans into a flavor extravaganza for under $5 in less than 10 minutes. It’s no accident that Mother Nature provides the best ingredients for the job just when we need them, and as good fortune would have it, fresher means more nutritious too.

But what about all the hard work it takes to make food from scratch when it’s so easy just to pick up a package? The fact is, the only way to really know what you’re eating is to make it yourself. Packaged food, even the “healthy” kind, usually contains preservatives, colorants and other additives used to keep it looking and tasting fresh.

The quality of your diet directly correlates to your health, so it’s time to rethink the convenience factor, especially when home cooking doesn’t have to be difficult and time consuming! My delicious Farmer’s Market Chick Pea Salad came together in less than ten minutes, including cleanup. I had the beans already prepared, another easy DIY method that takes little hands on time for the most delicious results.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 3 cups pre-cooked garbanzo beans
• 1 large handful or 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shelled walnuts
• 3-4 small tomatoes, diced (dry farmed are especially good here)
• 3 small zucchinis, diced

Check out the process below:

First, I washed, then diced my zucchini and put it right into a large saucepan with ¼ cup water.Then I covered it, put it on the stove and turned the stove to medium high.While steaming the zucchini for 2-3 minutes, I washed and chopped the tomatoes.   I turned off the zucchini then, and left the pan covered on the stove.   Next I rinsed the basil and added that and the olive oil, walnuts and salt to a mini food processor I love to use, but you can use a blender or Vitamix too. I let it blend everything but didn’t pulverise it like I usually would a pesto.   I opted for a chunkier texture since I knew the final result would be lovelier color-wise, but you could even use pre-made pesto here to save a step.   I added the basil blend to the steamed zucchini. If there is water left in the pan, you can stir that in too.   Finally I added the garbanzo beans and tomatoes and gently stirred them in.   This is what the final salad looks like. It tastes amazing too! Serve room temperature or chilled. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.