Chick Pea Salad with Cilantro Pesto dressing

Last week, for a couple of days, the temperature here was hovering around 90's. During such days, we like for something light and cold and this salad was perfect for lunch with the cilantro pesto dressing. Pesto is traditionally prepared with basil and pine nuts as its main ingredient. I am not a big fan of basil and also did not have pine nuts in hand. So I decided to experiment with cilantro and walnuts and it was a very good combination with the chick pea salad.


Best thing about this recipe is there is no cooking involved except for pressure cooking the chick peas. What a great perk is that on a hot summer day!

Ingredients:
1. Chick peas - 1 cup
2. Celery - 2 stems
3. Red Bell pepper - half (Chopped)
4. Lettuce - 1/2 head (chopped)
Ingredients for Cilantro Pesto dressing:

1. Cilantro - 1 cup (Tightly packed)
2. Walnuts - 5 0r 6
3. Lemon Juice - 1 teaspoon
4. Garlic - 1 small
5. Salt and pepper - to taste

6. Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Soak the chick peas overnight and cook it in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles or until soft but still firm. If you are using canned chick peas you can ignore this step. Drain the chick peas and keep it aside

2. Clean and cut celery and bell pepper and mix it with chcikpeas. You can also add other vegetables.

3. For the pesto dressing, clean the cilantro. Chop it roughly.

4. Place all the ingredients except olive oil mentioned under Ingredients for Cilantro Pesto dressing and pulse it couple of times. Slowly add olive oil till you get a creamy texture.

5. Combine, chcikpeas, celery and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the cilantro pesto dressing to the chickpea salad. Mix well till the dressing coats the chick peas evenly.

Serve it over a bed of lettuce.


Note:


The cilantro dressing can be prepared ahead of time. It stays good in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.


I am sending this post to Taste Junction's Salad Spread  event.