Tahini Silverbeet and Chickpea Salad

Here is a meal that I made a couple of weekends ago. My only notes on the meal are E’s pronouncement that it was superb and two lists of ingredients written in such a hurry that it is hard to tell where one ends and the next starts. But I wanted to post it because it was such a great quick meal.

The salad was adapted from a recipe made by Mary at Shazam in the Kitchen. Mary was holding a regular series of Legume Wednesdays with lots of great legume dishes each week. She is finding herself too busy to continue the series at the moment (for which I have a lot of empathy), although she is still managing to keep up some entertaining posts. But the legacy lives on in my list of bookmarked recipes which I hope to try some time.

I have made a few changes to the salad. I kept thinking of adding preserved lemon as I need to start using up the jar in the back of the fridge. I was concerned that it might be a bit overwhelming. However the next day it made such a fabulous lunch that I think this salad might be better for sitting overnight in the fridge.

The tahini silverbeet accompaniment was made with more of the delightfully colourful silverbeet (a.k.a. rainbow chard) my mum brought me from her garden. I found this recipe in Cranks Fast Food in the library months ago. The recipe was for silverbeet but I had other vegetables to use up which worked fine but aren’t necessary.

I loved the tahini with it. I would go as far to say that this makes silverbeet (one of my most hated vegetable as a child) far more palatable than cooking it in a gratin. It was quicker and not so rich. I served it with the chickpea salad and rice but it would go handsomely with many other accompaniments – toast, salads, roast vegies, nut roast, pilaf etc etc.

Unfortunately my instructions for this dish are fairly vague as I can barely remember what I did. But when I scribbled it out in the library I only wrote down the ingredients and so I think this is a recipe where you can wing it and still have delicious results. I have never had any desire to grow silverbeet in my backyard but I am starting to think maybe it would be a good thing if I could eat this Silverbeet with Tahini more often!

Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Sun-dried Tomatoes
(Adapted from Shazam in the Kitchen)
Serves 2-3

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 capsicum (or cucumber), diced
¼ tsp cumin
12 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Juice of a small lemon
1 tsp garlic flakes (or 1 clove of garlic, crushed)
1 dessertspoon of olive oil
1 tbsp preserved lemon (or less), rinsed and finely chopped
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Seasoning

Mix all ingredients together. Can be made the day before. Season. Serve at room temperature.

Silverbeet with Tahini
(adapted from Cranks Fast Food)
Serves 2 as a side dish

½ onion, cut in thin crescents
1 dessertspoon olive oil
4 silverbeet (or rainbow chard) leaves, chopped thinly
1½ tomato, chopped*
3 stalks asparagus, chopped small*
4 button mushrooms, sliced*
1 tsp garlic flakes
1 tbsp tahini
Pinch of salt
(optional – pinch nutmeg but I forgot)

* Extra vegetables are optional

Fry onion in oil for a few minutes til softened. Add silverbeet and cook a couple of minutes. Add tomato, asparagus, mushroom and garlic. Cook over high heat for a few minutes til all is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in tahini and pinch of salt.

On the stereo:
Space and Time: Steve Roach