Author Notes: After reading a great post by Heidi at 101cookbooks about a lemony chickpea-zucchini salad, early last year, I set to work to make something similar. Armed with yams, zucchini, chickpeas, and tahini, I cobbled together a salad that was so, so much more than the sum of it parts, it practically shocked me. No sooner had I made the salad and begun to post about it, something weird happened: I started seeing similar combinations popping up all over the place. This is a salad that needs to be known, needs to be made, needs to be eaten. – Rivka —Rivka
Food52 Review: This is a dish that could easily be weighed down with starch, but Rivka keeps it fleet of foot by dropping zucchini into the mix of yam and chickpeas and by dressing it all with a zippy lemon and tahini vinaigrette. You can eat it warm or cold, in your packed lunch or as a side dish for roasted chicken. We’d be happy with all of the above. – A&M —The Editors
Makes: lunch for a few days
Cook time: 1 hrs
Ingredients
For the salad
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2
yams or sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
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1
zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
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1
can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
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2
garlic cloves
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3
sprigs parsley, leaves finely chopped
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2
scallions, thinly sliced on bias
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olive oil
For the dressing
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1
tablespoon tahini
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zest and juice of 1 lemon
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salt and pepper
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1
tablespoon olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone.
- Spread diced sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes, then add zucchini and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until both vegetables are softened inside and caramelized in spots. If vegetables haven’t caramelized at that point, pop them under the broiler for 3 minutes, and they’ll brown plenty.
- In a small frying pan over medium heat, saute chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (just enough to moisten) for about 3 minutes, until the chickpeas dry out a bit and are warmed through. Remove garlic cloves, chop finely, and reserve for dressing.
- In a medium bowl, mix chickpeas with yams and zucchini. Add parsley and scallions, and toss to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and half of chopped garlic. Add water by the teaspoon until the dressing is smooth and runny. Taste, and add additional chopped garlic if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve warm or room temperature.
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Nothing fancy: just tahini, scallion, lemon, chickpeas (from a can), zucchini, garlic, yam, and parsley.
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Merrill cubed the yam — about 3/4-inch cubes.
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Cubed zucchini with lemon onlookers.
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Rivka has you saute the rinsed and drained chickpeas with a little olive oil and garlic — a step that really transforms them into a flavorful contributor (no more can taste!).
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Amanda and Merrill seasoned the yams and dressed them with oil before roasting.
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Um, where will they fit?
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Amanda talked to her best friend, her coffee mug, while Allie worked hard in the background.
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Merrill sliced the scallions … so thinly!
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The garlic that sauteed with the chickpeas got a second use — chopped and added to the dressing. No waste!
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Amanda juiced the lemon.
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Everyone at work, while Merrill measured out the tahini for the dressing.
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Lemon juice, lemon zest and tahini were blended first.
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Then we whisked in the oil, and a little water.
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Once the yams were nearly tender, we added the zucchini (and more seasoning) to the pan.
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It was time for Amanda to whip out her king of pot holders!
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The fully roasted yams and zucchini.
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It was time to pull everything together — the vegetables and chickpeas first.
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Next, the dressing with the scallions and parsley tossed in at the same time.
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We were getting ready to food style.
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A fine brown-bag lunch, don't you agree?
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