Garbanzo Salad

I have always had really good garbanzo salads prepared by someone else but have never really ventured myself into the garbanzo world. Since I am into experimenting with foods lately, I purchased some organic garbanzos at one of the local farmers markets a few weeks ago and decided to prepare them. One thing about dry garbanzos like any other bean is that you have to soak them in plenty of water for a good 8 hours before cooking them. You’ll notice that they become plump and you might need to add a bit more water around 4 hours just to make sure that they are covered and then cook them for about 45 minutes or until tender. I added no salt because some beans may become tough when cooking them with salt. So here is this delicious recipe… I promise you won’t be disappointed 🙂

Ingredients:

Prepare ahead of time:
1 cup brown rice

Also prepare ahead of time:
1 ear of corn, boiled for about 6 minutes or until kernels are tender. With a knife, cut downwards from top to remove the kernels for the salad

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dry oregano
1 garlic clove, crushed

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

For the salad:

2 cups garbanzos (you can also use two cans of garbanzo beans if you don’t want to cook them)
Corn kernels (previously cooked)
1 Roma tomato finely diced
1 red bell pepper finely diced
1 medium raw zucchini finely diced
1 bag of organic baby lettuce leaves. (or spinach or any other leafy edible thing) 🙂
1 can pitted black olives (optional)

In a medium bowl combine rice, corn, garbanzo beans, red bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes and lettuce leaves. Toss with dressing. Let chill for about 10 minutes, serve and enjoy, Delicious!