Tomato and Zucchini Salad

I made this healthy Summer salad for dinner last night. The warm weather called for a light meal, quick and healthy. If you are a regular reader you will know that Sunday night is Dumpling Night in our home. It is a tradition we have had for more than a year now. While I love not cooking on Sunday night, I do get sick of dumplings. My two little boys adore them, and love our Sunday night tradition so it stays… Last night after a warm day and a heavy workload across the weekend I was craving a wholesome boost.

I collected the beautiful tomatoes and zucchini for the salad from my vegetable garden.

Serves: 2 adults
Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes approximately

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of cooking oil
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
240 gram tin of chick peas – drained and rinsed
6 fresh spring onions – chopped
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 small zucchini shaved into strips (with a potato peeler)
handful of fresh tomatoes – halved or quartered
1/4 cup of walnuts

Dressing:

1 tablespoon (more) of lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon of good quality extra virgin olive oil

Combine by whisking with a fork

Steps:

Add the oil to a pan with the garlic and heat until fragrant
Add the chick peas and cook on medium heat until they start to colour. Remove from the heat and add the spring onions and lemon juice and stir to combine
Season the chick peas with salt and freshly cracked pepper and set aside to cool
On a serving plate, add the zucchini strips and tomatoes then top with the chick peas, walnuts, and drizzle over the dressing to serve

I enjoyed the nutty flavour and crisp textures in this salad. I realised when eating it, and after a quick google search of A Fresh Legacy – A leaf from my garden, that I have previously published a recipe where I prepare the chick peas in the same way.

The other salad recipe was a Haloumi Salad. Not as wholesome, but very tasty. Unwittingly, I even photographed that recipe on the same plate- oops !! Take a look below and give it a try if you love Haloumi cheese, and a little zing of chilli:

All I can say is… there are similarities in the recipes because they work! Tomatoes and chickpeas make a great combination 🙂

Have you tried chick peas in a salad?

Jane @ Shady Baker says:

February 25, 2013 at 10:17 am

Another delicious, healthy recipe from your kitchen Kyrstie! I love chick peas in salad to make it a little more filling and hearty…yum!

Kyrstie says:
February 25, 2013 at 1:14 pm

Hi Jane, thanks for your lovely comment. I need to make sure Mr Fresh has enough on his plate to stop him scratching around in the fridge after dinner so the chick peas work well 🙂

Miss Piggy says:

February 25, 2013 at 10:56 am

This looks like a great salad…I love chickpeas but don’t use them in salads at home (not sure why)?

Kyrstie says:
February 25, 2013 at 1:13 pm

Thanks Miss Piggy, give them a go I am sure you will love them.

Christie @ fig & cherry says:

February 25, 2013 at 12:28 pm

I just love the way you’ve left the zucchini raw in this salad. Delicious.

Kyrstie says:
February 25, 2013 at 1:12 pm

Thanks Christie. I have just started doing that and it is really lovely. I enjoy the texture and the kids eat it so it is win win 🙂

Nic@diningwithastud says:

February 25, 2013 at 2:09 pm

Oh I love dumplings! It was the perfect weather for a salad though to be fair 😉

Catherine says:

February 26, 2013 at 10:51 am

There is nothing better than salads made up from ingredients from your veggie patch. This one looks so healthy and colourful..perfect for the hot weather we’ve been having. I love the sound of your dumpling night on Sunday’s Kyrstie, my daughter and I are big dumpling fans too.