The Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Hello and welcome to Djalali Cooks. Happy Spring! I hope Spring-like weather is showing up in your neck of the woods as we head into this first week of Spring. We have had a lot of rain lately, which I am sure will bring on the spring flowers. How about we kick things off light this week with a savory Chickpea Salad Sandwich, full of veggies and creamy avocado. This Chickpea Salad is a great salad to have hanging around in the fridge, so even if you’re not making a sandwich, think of it for smearing on toast or crackers for a healthy and light, but filling snack. Let’s do it!

I am not sure if this is still a thing, but in the early 2000s, in San Francisco, every cafe or coffee shop featured a vegetarian bagel sandwich. Invariably it had cucumber, avocado, tomato, sprouts and usually hummus, but sometimes cream cheese. I enjoyed these sandwiches, but admittedly, they were so ubiquitous that I grew tired of them pretty quickly. This little bagel sandwich brings back some of the nostalgia for that “California” bagel sandwich, but changes it up a bit with a delicious chickpea salad.

Chickpea Salad

You can certainly make this salad with fresh-out-of-the-can, drained chickpeas. I am sure it would be good, but I am going to go one extra step with this salad and give the rinsed, dried chickpeas a little toasting in olive oil. This gives them a toasty flavor and it crisps up the skins a bit for added texture.

So, rinse the chickpeas then give them a pat-dry with paper towels. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas to the hot oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Swirl the pan every couple minutes, lowering the heat as needed so that the chickpeas don’t pop right out of the pan (it happens!). Pull the chickpeas from heat when they begin to have toasted exteriors and their skins are loose. When you pull the chickpeas from the heat, spread them out on a paper towel to cool slightly.

In addition to the toasted chickpeas, we have lemon juice, dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, sliced scallion and a little mayonnaise; for the fresh herbs we have parsley and dill. Transfer the slightly cooled chickpeas to a medium sized bowl and add drizzle the juice from half a lemon over the chickpeas. Then add the sliced scallion and the fresh herbs.

Use a wooden spoon to lightly smash the chickpeas and mix with the herbs and onion.

We aren’t looking for a paste, or hummus consistency; we want to keep nice chunks of chickpea for texture. Once the chickpeas are lightly smashed and the herbs are mixed in, add about 1 tablespoon each of the dijon and the whole grain mustard. Then about 1 tablespoon of mayo.

Mix this altogether. As you mix, you can smash the chickpeas a little more to get a cohesive mixture. Taste for seasoning and add kosher salt and black pepper as needed.

Assembling The Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Use your favorite bread for this sandwich. I have a sourdough everything bagel that I have lightly toasted. Use a mix of your favorite raw veggies to top the sandwich. I have avocado, cucumber, radish and carrot strips. To make the carrot strips, use a Y-Peeler to make wide ribbons of the carrot.

Start with smearing a little dijon mustard on each slice of bread or bagel half.

Then, if you like, lay a lettuce leaf on the bottom side to hold the chickpea salad. Spoon on as much chickpea salad as you like.

Then it’s just layering the veggies on in single layers.

If you’re using avocado slices, save those for the last layer; the creaminess of the avocado will keep all the loose veggies in place under the top slice of bread or bagel half. Just before placing the top bread on, squeeze on another drizzle of lemon juice and top with a little more kosher salt or flaky finishing salt and black pepper.

Top with the other slice of bread, or bagel half.

Use a serrated knife to carefully slice The Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich in half.

And yes, it looks impossibly tall to bite into. But it’s not impossible!

Thank you all so much for joining me today for this perfect spring sandwich, The Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich! I do hope you give this one a try, as I mentioned at the top, this Chickpea Salad is great to have for toasts, crackers, or as a sandwich, like we’ve done today. Check out more Great Sandwiches on Djalali Cooks. Happy Spring!! Take care and be well, xo Kelly

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The Best Chickpea Salad Sandwich

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Dinner, Main Course, Lunch – American

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: Makes about 2 Sandwiches

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 5 Minutes – Total Time: 20 Minutes

Crispy, smashed chickpeas with fresh herbs, Dijon and lemon creates a beautiful salad to top a sandwich loaded with fresh veggies.

Ingredients

• Chickpea Salad
• 1 15.5-oz. Can of Chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 1-2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Juice of Half a Lemon
• 1 Scallion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 2 tbsp. Chopped Fresh Dill
• 1 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp. Whole grain Mustard
• 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise
• Sandwich
• 2 Bagels, sliced in half and toasted
• Dijon Mustard
• 2-4 Lettuce Leaves
• Chickpea Salad
• 1/4 English Cucumber, sliced thin
• 1 Radish, sliced thin
• 1 Small Carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into ribbons
• 1 Avocado, seed removed and flesh sliced thin
• Drizzle of Lemon Juice
• Kosher Salt or Flaky Finishing Salt, to taste
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

1

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas to the hot oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Swirl the pan every couple minutes, lowering the heat as needed so that the chickpeas don't pop right out of the pan (it happens!). Pull the chickpeas from heat when they begin to have toasted exteriors and their skins are loose. When you pull the chickpeas from the heat, spread them out on a paper towel to cool slightly.

2

Transfer the slightly cooled chickpeas to a medium sized bowl and add drizzle the juice from half a lemon over the chickpeas. Then add the sliced scallion and the fresh herbs.

3

Use a wooden spoon to lightly smash the chickpeas and mix with the herbs and onion. Once the chickpeas are lightly smashed and the herbs are mixed in, add about 1 tablespoon each of the dijon and the whole grain mustard. Then about 1 tablespoon of mayo.

4

Mix this altogether. As you mix, you can smash the chickpeas a little more to get a cohesive mixture. Taste for seasoning and add kosher salt and black pepper as needed.

Sandwich Assembly

5

Start with smearing a little dijon mustard on each slice of bread or bagel half.

6

Then, if you like, lay a lettuce leaf on the bottom side to hold the chickpea salad. Spoon on as much chickpea salad as you like.

7

Then layer the veggies on in single layers.

8

If you're using avocado slices, save those for the last layer; the creaminess of the avocado will keep all the loose veggies in place under the top slice of bread or bagel half. Just before placing the top bread on, squeeze on another drizzle of lemon juice and top with a little more kosher salt or flaky finishing salt and black pepper.

9

Top with the other slice of bread, or bagel half.