Vibrant Chickpea Salad

This meal was inspired by a salad I had out, and I decided to recreate a similar version for dinner at home. It is so tasty yet very simple to make. The chickpeas definitely make this salad a filling meal and there is the major bonus of not needing to cook anything. Other than the nuts, a salad like this is also cheap but still packed full of nutrients and flavour. Pistachios are slightly more expensive than say almonds, but seeds tend to be a cheaper alternative. Also, Asian supermarkets tend to stock nuts at much cheaper prices too.

Serves 2 / Preparation time: 5-10 minutes. 

Ingredients 

1 can (400g) of chickpeas, drained
1 handful of roasted pistachios (or pecans)
2 roasted red peppers
2 medium sized tomatoes, deseeded
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 small red onion or shallot
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
juice of a lemon
approx. 50g of feta cheese
salt and pepper.

Preparation 

1. Finely chop your roasted red peppers and tomatoes. Do the same with your nut of choice. If you have a nut allergy the nuts can easily be replaced with seeds or omitted.  
2. Mine your onion.
3. Add the onion, red pepper, tomato and nuts into a salad bowl. 
4. Crumble in the feta and add the chickpeas. 
5. Drizzle over the olive oil, squeeze in the lemon and add the oregano. 
6. Season with salt and pepper. 
7. Place the spinach on your plate of choice or a large bowl if serving many. Top with the dressed mixture. I prefer to dress the mixture without the spinach because it minimises the amount of necessary oil and prevents the salad from getting too wet. 
8. Enjoy!