Roasted Chickpea Salad

This is a new FAVORITE!! I made this last week when I was invited to a Middle Eastern Feast. I had no idea what to bring, like not a clue. So I reviewed a few recipes and this is the resulting recipe. It is so delicious and the warm flavors would pair so good with a winter squash soup or the Stuffed Acorn Squash. Another alternative is to make the meat in the Food Upgrade: Taco Tuesday. Throw it warm onto the chickpea salad and top it all with the dressing. That's what we did the first time I made it and it was amazing!!

INGREDIENTS:

*NOTE: I used the whole version of all the spices and ground them myself in my mortar and pestle. You could also toast them in a hot pan for a few moments before grinding them to realllllly make it awesome. The store bought, pre-ground versions would also be just fine

Chickpeas

1 can (14oz/400g) chick peas, drained

1 tsp ground cardamon

1½ tsp allspice

1 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of himalayan salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Salad

2 cucumbers, diced

2 tomatoes (or 3 medium tomatoes), diced

½ red onion, diced

Handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Dressing

1½ tbsp white wine vinegar

Zest of half a lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp honey

1 garlic clove, crushed

Salt

Combine all ingredients for the chickpeas in a bowl. Spoon the coated chickpeas onto a large cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes. You can then increase the temp to 350 or 375 for about ten minutes to crunch them up. Meanwhile, whop all the ingredients for the salad and place it in a bowl. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a separate bowl or mason jar. I like to place the warm chickpeas right onto the salad and coat with dressing. I have also done the chickpeas when I wake up in the morning and turn them off after the 50 min and let them stay in the oven til dinnertime.