Greek Chickpea Salad

This salad screams SUMMER, and it so simple to put together. It's balanced, flavorful, and beautiful too. This is the perfect side dish to bring to a party, and a great recipe for meal prep. Eat the salad as is, or pile it on top of some greens or a baked sweet potato.

The quality of ingredients really matters here. Since the salad is simple, having fresh ingredients and a high quality olive oil makes ALL the difference. Most of these veggies came from my own garden or a local farm!

I didn't have time to make my go-to vegan feta recipe, so I bought some from the local health food store. I had previously tried Violife's parmesan and was impressed. Their feta didn't disappoint either. I think it may actually resemble goat cheese a bit more, but is delicious nonetheless!

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Greek Chickpea Salad

1 cucumber, diced*
1.5 cups tomato (I used tiny heirlooms from my CSA)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
​1/2 small red onion, diced
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped in half
Handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
4 oz. feta (I used vegan Violife feta, I also have a recipe for vegan feta here)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane or minced
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1 TBSP whole grain mustard (or 1/2 TBSP dijon)
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing: whisk all ingredients in a bowl, or shake in a glass jar.

Combine all salad ingredients, besides the cheese, in a large bowl. Pour half the dressing to the bowl and mix. Top with feta and add more dressing as desired. 

Notes:
-Use an English or 2 Persian cucumbers. Otherwise, scoop out the seeds and peel the skin off if desired.