This recipe for chickpea salad comes from the New York Times cooking section, which referred to it as: "A lighter, easier take on classic American potato salad."
Come on, now. This is obviously not potato salad. It is light however, using mostly plain Greek yogurt to moisten the ingredients instead of the traditional hefty dose of mayonnaise. There's also a good amount of crunchy celery and chopped scallions. But truth be known, no potatoes.
So what's to like about this salad? Plenty. Its main ingredient is high-protein, low-fat (and WW Points) chickpeas instead of starchy, high-carb taters. The trick is to mash about 1/3 of the chickpeas with a fork before adding the dressing. The texture is supposed to mimic the mushy creaminess of potatoes, but even if you’re not fooled, it’s still pretty awesome. If you mash even more of the chickpeas, it becomes a sort-of-egg-salad-type stuffing for a sandwich.
My suggestion is to keep this unadorned salad in the fridge for a few days and dress it up with tomatoes, cucumbers, more celery, red onions and feta cheese for a spin on Greek salad. Or enjoy it as a low calorie/WW Point lunch atop a green salad.
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh minced dill
2 Tbsp. fresh minced Italian parsley
3 (15-oz.) cans chickpeas, rinsed
1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth, then add the dill and parsley and stir to combine. Set aside.
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and using a fork, lightly mash about 1/3 of them. Add the celery and scallions and toss.
Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well, and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with more dill and parsley and serve.
You can store this salad in the refrigerator for up to two days. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
Serves 4 to 6