food comas

I stumbled across this recipe from deconstructingthehome a few months ago and was immediately infatuated. Chickpeas aren’t an ingredient I am used to stocking so the recipe photo link just sat there tantalizing me for weeks on my “Recipes to Try” Pinterest board. Finally, I came across a tower of chickpea cartons on sale at my grocery store and it was go time.

This salad is so tasty and flavorful and still manages to be full of nutrition. I inadvertently forgot to add broccoli sprouts, which apparently is the primary nutrient factor; however, I still think the rest was very healthy! The crisp, freshly chopped vegetables, creamy avocado, zesty cilantro lime dressing and crunchy Roasted Chickpeas were an incredible combination. Natalie, you are a genius.

Taco Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Cilantro Lime Dressing (recipe by Natalie of deconstructingthehome)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared recipe for Roasted Chickpeas
• 1 lb turkey meat or lean beef
• 1 packet or 3 T of Taco Seasoning
• 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Package of mixed spinach and arugula or the lettuce of your choice (unsure how to measure the quantity here… I just grab a handful of leaves per serving)
• 1 bell pepper, cubed
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 C broccoli sprouts (I skipped this part because I forgot them)
• 1/2 C sliced red onion
• Optional: fresh shredded cheese

For the dressing:

• 1/2 C cilantro leaves
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 T lime juice
• 2 T chopped onion
• 1 T honey
• 1 T basil leaves
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 C olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

First, prepare your chickpeas!  You should be able to cook your ground meat and make your dressing in the same amount of time it takes to roast the chickpeas.

In a medium skillet, brown the ground meat until no longer pink. Drain the fat and then stir in the taco seasoning.

Prepare salad by dividing lettuce mixture onto plates. Top lettuce with a little of each bell pepper, avocado, broccoli sprouts, chopped onion, and tomatoes.

To prepare salad dressing place cilantro, garlic, juice, onion, honey, basil, Dijon, and cumin into blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and well combined. Stream in olive oil until well mixed. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

Add prepared meat and roasted chickpeas to the lettuce and veggies. Drizzle with salad dressing and sprinkle some fresh shredded cheese on top. Enjoy!