Some days all you want is a big bowl of satisfying yet simple to make salad to nourish your body and soul, am I right? If that’s you, I have a simple summer salad recipe for you today, which my food obsessed brain concocted this week and I am hoping you will like it as much as I do! I made it using my trusted (and very loved) griddle pan, but this salad lends itself well to a BBQ cooking too.
It features plenty of plant goodness that’s in abundance at this time of the year. Iron and protein rich chickpeas guarantee sought after satiety, charred aubergines lend meatiness and smokiness and lightly charred cherry tomatoes offer beautiful pops of colour and bursts of sweet juiciness to this salad. A smattering of thinly sliced spring onion add a bit of savouriness and fried flatbread makes gorgeous oversized croutons that give this salad a satisfying crunch. The whole thing is brought together by a simple zhough inspired dressing that’s fragrant with herbs, lemon zest and spices. It’s been a winner in my house so I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Blitz all of the dressing ingredients together in a mini food processor and pan-fry lightly greased pieces of flatbread (or pita) in a hot pan.
Chargrill aubergine slices and halved cherry toms on a pre-heated griddle pan or a BBQ if you happen to have one going already. Assemble all of the components on a single platter, adjust the seasoning and enjoy the taste of summer.
1 large eggplant / aubergine olive oil 300 g / 2 scant cups cooked chickpeas* 25 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 spring onion / scallion, finely sliced 50 g / 1.75 oz stale flatbread or 1 small stale pita* (optional)
*FRIED FLATBREAD/PITA: flatbread / pita croutons are a good use of stale bread and add nice crunchy texture to the salad, but if you want to keep this dish gluten-free, fried salted almonds will make a great addition too, for example. *OIL-FREE: if you would rather make this salad oil free, use ½ ripe avocado (and a dash of water) in the dressing. Spread aubergine slices on metal tray and bake in a 200° C / 390° F oven for about 25-30 minutes. Pop halved tomatoes into a tall baking tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes, giving them a stir half way through.
