This roasted chickpea salad gets glammed up with the addition of a Moroccan spice blend as well as carrot, cucumber, and radish. And it’s ready in just half an hour.
Make a double batch of the roasted chickpeas for this salad, because on their own they’re a great snack and much healthier than crisps. Experiment with different spice combinations or grate in any crunchy vegetables you have around.–Saskia Sidey
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Roasted Chickpea Salad FAQs
How do I make roasted chickpeas in an air-fryer?
You can easily put your air fryer to good use for the roasted chickpeas in this recipe. Place the chickpeas in a 5.3-quart air-fryer basket and bake at 400°F (202°C) for 10 minutes. If your air fryer can only heat to 390°F (198°C), that’s ok. It’ll still work. Remove the chickpeas from the fryer and, in a small bowl, toss them well with the ras el hanout and the oil. Return the chickpeas to the air-fryer basket and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
What’s ras el hanout?
A spice blend from North Africa, ras el hanout is used heavily in Moroccan cooking, so much so that it’s sometimes known as “Moroccan spice.” The blend is full of warm spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, and peppercorn, which gives it a robust yet slightly sweet flavor. The name literally translates from Arabic to “head of the shop,” but colloquially refers to “top shelf.” Its flavor is, indeed, exactly that. Ras el hanout is commonly used by spice dealers to showcase their best ingredients.
How do I supreme an orange?
Once you’ve zested it, slice off the top and bottom of the fruit. Place the fruit on one end and remove the rest of the rind in strips, taking care to leave as much orange intact as possible by following the curve of the fruit. Next, slide your pairing knife into the orange, slicing just to the left and right of each membrane. Gently remove the segments as you slice and congratulate yourself on your new skill!
Roasted Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
For the roasted chickpeas
- One (14-ounce) can chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade ras el hanout
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the salad
- 7 ounces couscous
- 2 cups boiling hot vegetable broth or 1 tablespoon vegan bouillon powder mixed with 2 cups boiling water
- 2 oranges preferably an organic, seedless variety
- 1 medium carrot grated or julienned
- 1 medium cucumber grated or julienned
- 1/2 medium (4 oz) red onion finely chopped
- 6 radishes thinly sliced
- Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped, about 1/2 cup
- Large handful fresh cilantro roughly chopped, about 1/2 cup
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Make the roasted chickpeas
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (202°C).
- Drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid (also known as aquafaba) for another use such as vegan mayo or meringue. Rinse the chickpeas and pat them completely dry.
- Place the well-dried chickpeas on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, toss the chickpeas with the ras el hanout and oil and stir well to combine. Return the chickpeas to the rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden and crunchy, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
Make the salad
- While the chickpeas are roasting and cooling, place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Pour enough boiling broth over the couscous to just barely cover it. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap for 5 to 8 minutes, until the couscous has completely absorbed the liquid.
- Meanwhile, use a microplane to finely zest one of the oranges and then supreme it (see FAQs) with a pairing knife. Slice the remaining orange in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Remove any seeds, if necessary.
- To assemble the salad, use a fork to fluff up the couscous and stir in the orange mixture, carrot, cucumber, red onion, radishes, parsley, and cilantro. Season with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil and toss again. Scoop the salad into a serving bowl and top with the roasted chickpeas. Serve immediately. (You can cover and refrigerate the salad for up to 1 week.)
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Originally published March 4, 2021
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Mardi Michels
This roasted chickpea salad is a flavourful take on tabbouleh. The extra “effort” (really not because it’s not hands-on time) of roasting the chickpeas takes this from a tasty side dish to one you won’t be able to stop eating. I think I’m going to add roasted chickpeas to all my salads from now on (if I can stop myself from eating them all before they make it to the salad).