Crispy Chickpea Salad from @MaddieDayAuthor

MADDIE DAY here, bringing you a fun summer salad with international flavors. The recipe I adapted appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine on August 6, with credit to Christopher Kimball.

I have lots of fresh cucumbers in my garden, along with a healthy pot of mint. And who doesn't love a crispy curried chickpea? When my vegetarian son and his wife were coming for lunch recently, I thought this salad would be perfect to serve them.

Crispy Chickpea Salad

 

Ingredients

Picture shows fat can of chickpeas, all I had in the larder, and no lemon

1 long cucumber or two slender shorter cukes, diced and peeled.

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder (or less if you don't like a little spice)

2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice (not shown)

½ cup roughly chopped fresh mint

 

Directions

In a colander, toss cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt. Let drain over a bowl or the sink, for about 15 minutes, stirring several times.

Toss chickpeas with cornstarch. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about five minutes. Add curry powder and continue to cook, stirring, for about a minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Toss drained cucumbers with citrus juice, mint, and 1 tablespoon oil.

Stir in chickpeas and adjust seasonings, if needed.

Enjoy with grilled fish or chicken or with other salads.

Readers: What international flavors do you like?

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My next books will be "Murderous Mittens" in Christmas Mittens Murder and Murder Uncorked, both featuring my new wine bar manager Cece Barton.

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Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.