Spiced Chickpea Salad With Tahini and Pita Chips

Name: Spiced Chickpea Salad With Tahini and Pita Chips
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 main-course servings
Cuisine: middle eastern
Ingredients: 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, well drained, or 4 cups cooked chickpeas; 3/4 to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 teaspoons ground cumin, or 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and ground coriander; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; Salt and pepper; 1/3 cup tahini; Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste; 1 garlic clove, minced; Warm water, as needed; Olive oil, for cooking; About 10 ounces kale, chard or spinach, well washed and thick stems removed; 3 cups store-bought or homemade pita chips (see Tip); Handful of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley; Handful of roughly chopped mint; 1 large or 2 small cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced; Lemon, cut into wedges

Recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated June 10, 2024

Spiced Chickpea Salad With Tahini and Pita Chips — Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 5(4,578)
Comments: Read comments

This main-course salad has all the fresh flavors of a great falafel sandwich — tahini, mint, paprika, cucumber, cumin, garlic — plus the crunch of pita and the satisfying heft of chickpeas. The vegetarian cookbook writer Hetty McKinnon created this recipe, and the amount of olive oil she calls for might seem excessive. Don’t hold back: After cooking the chickpeas, the oil becomes part of the garlicky, paprika-warmed dressing for the finished dish. You could make her recipe even easier by using salad greens instead of cooked greens as the base. —Julia Moskin

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Ingredients

Yield:4 main-course servings

For the Chickpeas

2(15-ounce) cans chickpeas, well drained, or 4 cups cooked chickpeas
¾ to 1cup extra-virgin olive oil
2garlic cloves, minced
2teaspoons ground cumin, or 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and ground coriander
1teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and pepper

For the Tahini Sauce

⅓cup tahini
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
1garlic clove, minced
Warm water, as needed

To Finish

Olive oil, for cooking
About 10 ounces kale, chard or spinach, well washed and thick stems removed
3cups store-bought or homemade pita chips (see Tip)
Handful of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Handful of roughly chopped mint
1large or 2 small cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
Lemon, cut into wedges

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Make the chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the chickpeas into a small baking dish, about 6 inches by 8 inches. The chickpeas should be crowded together in a thick layer, not spread out. Pour in olive oil just until chickpeas are covered. (This will look like a lot, but don’t worry: It forms part of the dressing.)
Step 2
Add garlic, cumin, paprika, and 2 big pinches each of salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Bake until oil is bubbling around the chickpeas and they are turning reddish-brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Step 3
Meanwhile, make tahini sauce: Pour tahini into a bowl and whisk in lemon juice and garlic. The tahini will thicken and clump. Slowly whisk in warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce becomes smooth, creamy and pourable. Taste and season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice, if desired. Set aside.
Step 4
Cook the greens: Place a large frying pan over medium heat and drizzle lightly with olive oil. When hot, add the greens in batches, along with a big pinch of salt. Stir until wilted and tender and set aside.
Step 5
When ready to serve, in a large bowl, gently mix chickpeas and their cooking oil with the cooked greens, half the pita chips, and the chopped herbs. Mound chickpea mixture in 4 shallow bowls. Divide cucumber slices around chickpeas. Drizzle thickly with half the tahini sauce and scatter remaining pita chips on top. Place a lemon wedge on the side and serve, passing extra tahini sauce at the table.

Tip

It’s easy to make pita chips from stale pita bread. Cut each round into triangles like a pie and separate the top and bottom layers. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it ripples, add the pita triangles and cook, stirring often, until golden brown. Reduce the heat as needed to prevent scorching.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

4,578 user ratings

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Comments

Denise6 years ago

add tomatoes, pepper, and feta, zatar seasoning

Ann6 years ago

Next time I would just add the greens directly to the chick peas in mid cooking. Don’t think there’s any need for another pan. But it was delicious

Fivel6 years ago

Absolutely delicious and healthy weeknight meal that the whole crew enjoyed. We added some harissa. Don't think it needs anything changed really but my boo suggested adding feta or halloumi next time. Five stars!

Chris C3 weeks ago

I forgot to add the parsley and mint, but my guests still raved about this salad. I loved it, too.

KWH3 weeks ago

I am baffled by the 5 star ratings. I have made this twice, and both times it was an oily, soggy mess. Not going to go for the trifecta.

Jaime3 weeks ago

So good! Added red onions and accidentally overcooked the chickpeas. They became more like croutons so used them on romaine. Added chopped pickles to the dressing and zaatar to the greens. A hit I will make again and again. Maybe I’ll try the recipe as intended but for a summer picnic, my accidental variation was perfect.

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