Everyone should have a simple potluck/lunch/pantry dish in their repertory. One that can impress with just a few ingredients, doesn’t need to be refrigerated immediately, and just gets better as it sits. This is mine.
Once a month (or thereabouts) my extended family gets together for dinner. We used to only gather for major holidays, but several years back, I realized that no one was getting younger and that we needed to take advantage of our proximity and spend time with one another. Having added our two boys to the mix makes this feel even more important than it once did.
These evenings are mostly potluck, with everyone volunteering to bring something that they want to eat (cohesion is secondary). In the past, I was pretty good at communicating with my various cousins and aunts what I was going to bring but last month, I failed miserably. Everyone would have given me a pass (and knowing my family, there would have been plenty of food even if I hadn’t managed to bring anything). But I wanted to bring something.
Looking at the fridge and pantry just an hour before we needed to leave, I realized that the pickings were slim. But there was still enough to build a satisfying little marinated salad of chick peas, chopped celery, and diced sweet onion. I pulled down my copy of Preserving by the Pint and made a version of the Herb Vinaigrette (swapping in dried oregano for the basil in the original recipe). I really do cook from my own books!
This blender vinaigrette recipe came to me from my mom’s best friend Maria and is such a great, versatile dressing. I will often make a batch over the weekend to have in the fridge. Knowing it’s there makes me want to take the time to make a salad for lunch rather than defaulting to peanut butter toast.
From there, it was a matter of combining chick peas, celery, and onions, and bathing in the dressing (I used half a batch). It was good and well-received at the potluck, but the leftovers continued to soak up flavor and goodness and were even better the next day.
Marinated Chick Pea and Celery Salad
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can chick peas drained
- 3 ribs celery minced
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic cloves, dried oregano, dry mustard, salt, and pepper. Blend until just incorporated.
- Combine the chick peas, celery, and onion in a large bowl and pour approximately half the dressing over the top.
- Let the salad marinate for at least an hour before serving.
- The salad will keep in the fridge for up to three days and the leftover dressing is good in the fridge for up to two weeks.
This sounds delicious! I want to try it in a bowl with greens, a grain, like barley or brown rice, and other vegetables. Thank you for the inspiration!
I sure wish your recipes printed with their names.
This looks delicious. I can’t wait to make it.
I will see if I can tweak the plug-in I use to include the names. Sorry about that!
I’m not a huge fan of celery, but this sounds like it would be a great place to sub out thinly-sliced leafy green stems, like collards, kale, or chard. I might also swap out blended preserved lemon for the fresh lemon and salt, and zata’ar for the oregano in the dressing to put a Mediterranean spin on this salad. Then eat the beans-and-stems salad with the greens that were stripped off the stems after wilting them in a hot pan. And maybe gild the lily with a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Now I’m hungry! Thanks for getting the wheels turning.
Happy to serve as inspiration!
Just made this with a mix of kale stems and celery, to serve over the massaged kale leaves. Boy oh boy is this marinated chickpea salad wonderful. Thanks again for the inspiration and for maintaining this site even while wrangling those two little ones.
When I saw the title of this blog post, I was hoping for a recipe that can be canned. I’ve heard of bean salad recipes that can be hot water bath canned because there is enough vinegar. My city is now under Covid-19 lockdown so I’m looking for recipes that would give me a “meals in jars”.
I just made a batch of chickpeas in my instant pot and I am hoping that I have good celery in the fridge as I want to try this …. do you think 1 -1/2 cups of chickpeas would substitute for 1 can?
Thanks, Deborah
Yes. That’s perfect.
So is the other half of the dressing used at the time of serving. Looks to be a lot
I just use the remaining dressing over the course of the next couple weeks for whatever needs dressing.
I tried it and the dressing is delicious. You should leave it a few hours so the garbanzos soak up the dressing. A definite keeper
I’m so glad you like it!