Middle Eastern Salad with a Warm Spiced Chickpea Topping

While the dressing rests for 20 minutes, prepare this Middle Eastern Salad with a Warm Spiced Chickpea Topping. Residual moisture helps dry cumin, cardamom, and allspice cling to the wet legumes. Frying these beans for 2 minutes over high heat builds a firm crust alongside the diced cucumbers.

The sherry vinegar dressing

Smash a peeled garlic clove with the side of a knife. A smashed clove gives the olive oil a light flavor and lets you fish it out of the jar easily. Mince the garlic instead if you prefer a stronger bite. Combine the garlic, sherry vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, caster sugar, salt, and black pepper in a tight-sealing jar.

Sherry vinegar provides a less sharp acidity than other options. Vinegars made from red or white wine act as an easy substitution if you cannot find the sherry version. Give the closed jar a vigorous shake to combine the ingredients. Allow the liquid to rest for 20 minutes so the flavors can develop. This yields a generous amount of dressing, meaning you may not need the entire batch for one salad. Keep any extra stored in a sealed jar to use later as a general-purpose vinaigrette.

Spicing and frying the chickpeas

A single batch uses a 14 oz (400 g) can of chickpeas. You can swap in one and three-quarter cups of cooked dried chickpeas. Drain the canned chickpeas, but leave them wet. A completely dry chickpea stops the spices from sticking. Dump the wet chickpeas into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the ground cumin, allspice, cardamom, and salt over the legumes. Toss the beans well until the dry spices form a thick paste on the outside.

Set a large skillet over high heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the spiced chickpeas once the oil is hot. Fry them for two minutes. Give the pan a light shake or use a spoon for a gentle stir. The goal is to make the beans roll around the pan. A rough stir knocks the spice coating off the chickpeas. Take the pan off the stove. Scoop the chickpeas into a separate bowl so they can cool slightly.

The Salad Base

Dice two large tomatoes, or three medium tomatoes, along with the cucumbers and a small red onion. Roughly chop a quarter cup of parsley and a quarter cup of coriander leaves. Put the diced vegetables and chopped herbs into a large bowl. Drizzle a portion of the rested dressing over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients until the dressing coats everything evenly. Transfer this Salad Base into a wide serving bowl.

Finishing and serving the dish

Wait until the cooked legumes reach room temperature or are just slightly warm. Scatter the spiced chickpeas over the top of the dressed vegetables. Splash a little more dressing over the top layer. Toss everything together gently. A rough mix at this stage strips the spices from the chickpeas.

Serve the salad immediately after assembling. It pairs naturally with a dollop of yogurt and fresh pita bread. You can stuff the salad directly into the pita halves. The warm legumes and fresh vegetables also work as a side dish for simple proteins like a pan-seared fish fillet or lemon pepper chicken. You can leave the spiced chickpeas out entirely and serve the Salad Base alone to accompany heavily flavored main dishes like shawarma or koftas.