Chickpea Curry Salad
Ohh, it’s fall? That’s cute. You get to pull your sweaters out of storage and wrap yourself up in big cozy scarves while the first hit of piping hot pumpkin spice flows into your veins. The leaves turn. The air is chilly and makes you want to cuddle and read all day in the sunshine. I can almost feel the chill in the air when I dig into my Chickpea Curry Salad Wrap. It's cool enough to beat the heat and keep you from standing in front of a stove all day, but packed with cozy spices. There is something so comforting about curry that even when served cold feels like a warm hug. With the addition of currants and toasted pecans and almonds, it gives just enough cozy comfort for those in-between days.
I live in Florida. I am deprived of my favorite season. It tugs at me every September like an ex best friend. I so badly want to go to there and feed my spirit. But it’s muggy by 7 am and the rain always makes it hotter. It’s too gross to stand in front of a stove, if I go to pick up takeout my thighs might get branded by the molten hot seatbelt. my dog just ate a palmetto bug. Florida truly is god’s forgotten vestigial organ of the United States.
So go apple picking in your favorite worn flannel for me. I’ll be here with my chickpea curry wrap.
Ingredients and Substitutions
curry- Some people are afraid of curry because they've been burned by one too spicy a meal. Curry is really just a blend of several different spices that you can mix and match yourself. If you go this route, just keep it to a teaspoon each of cumin, coriander, and ginger. Turmeric is what gives it the beautiful yellow color and is very mild in flavor. You can leave it out, but it won’t be nearly as pretty.
Hot honey - Not everyone is into spicy foods, and that is just fine. Hot honey is made with apple cider vinegar in it’s base. To get the same tangy sweetness without the spice, just mix regular honey with a dash of apple cider vinegar in a small container before adding to your salad.
Nuts and berries - Depending on where you live, currants can be a seasonal ingredient and hard to find. If you’re running into this problem, just chop up some dried cranberries. Nuts, especially pecans can be quite expensive. The only nut I would not recommend with this salad is peanuts. In a pinch, just grab a can of mixed nuts and pull out the ones you would like to use. I’ve also tried this recipe with cashews and think they work deliciously in this recipe.
Chickpea Curry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 can of chickpeas drained and dried
- ½ cup of Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp hot honey
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 stalks celery
- ½ cup grated carrots
- 4 stalks of green onion
- 2 tbsp currants
- 2 tbsp almonds
- 1 teaspoon pecans
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 large piece of lavash bread or 2 soft tortilla wraps
- 2 big handfuls of spinach or whatever greens you have
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine your yogurt, curry powder, and hot honey. Very finely mince your preserved lemon and add to your bowl. Salt and pepper it to taste
- Stir in your chickpeas with a fork. Mash about half of them into the dressing to break up the texture a bit.
- Finely dice your celery and green onions. Give the carrots and parsley a rough chop too. Add them to the main bowl.
- give your almonds and pecans a rough chop. Add them to a small saucepan on low-medium heat until you can smell them get toasty, about 3-4 minutes. Add them in too.
- Add your currants and give everything one last big stir to combine. Slice your lavash bread in half. On one third of your wrap, add a handful of kale (after you’ve squeezed it a bit. You do massage your kale, right?). Top it off with a heap of your chickpea salad and fold away from yourself. Pull the sides in to meet the center and roll to seal.
