Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
How was your holiday weekend?
Mine was lovely! It felt like the unofficial start to Summer! I saw The Nice Guys—seriously fantastic movie. It’s the new one with Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling, and it’s hilarious. And then, on Memorial Day, we grilled over at our friends’ house, and my friend Helen made the most amazing guacamole (no secret it’s my favorite food), salmon, veggie burgers, and a killer roasted vegetable pasta salad. The weather was perrrrfect! And yesterday it was like 80!
Soooo, for the first day of June, I made you some sandwiches that would make the best picnic food, ever.
You’ve certainly heard of egg salad, tuna salad, and chicken salad, but what about chickpea salad?
I know what you’re thinking… Rachael…That really doesn’t look like anything special. Okay, I know. But trust me on this, the photos do not do this justice. This chickpea salad is texture and flavor heaven! Creamy, crunchy, full of dill, and just a touch of heat.
I like to really roughly mash my chickpeas, leaving some kinda whole, and other completely mushed. Of course, you do you, but I think this provides the best texture! I think the thing that makes this salad taste so good is the fresh dill and dill pickles. My favorite pickles are Claussen (which apparently I can’t seem to find a website for? weird because they’re super popular). They are the ones you get in the refrigerated section. I owe my addition to these pickles to a middle school English teacher I had—Mr. Krause. Sounds weird… but he would give out Claussen pickles for answering vocabulary questions correctly in his class. It was the coolest thing, ever. Anyway, if you can find that brand, use those!
There are also some pickled jalapeños and just a few dashes of hot sauce in the salad for a bit of heat. I like shredded ice berg lettuce on sandwiches with this because it’s cool and crunchy. The carrot also offers crunch, and just a hint of sweetness. The bread I like is Dave’s Killer Bread’s White Bread Done Right….and the name says it all, lol!
Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
Yield: 3-4 sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup egg-free mayo
- juice of half a small lemon
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh minced dill
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1/4 cup diced dill pickle
- 1 tbsp diced pickled jalapeno
- few dashes hot sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
to assemble:
- 4-6 sliced bread
- 1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 carrot, shaved or sliced thin
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, roughly mash the chickpeas. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spread 1 slice of bread with a generous dollop of the salad. Arrange the lettuce and carrots on top and top with the other slice of bread. Repeat with remaining sandwiches!