OK, so this was really lunch. But it was late in the afternoon, close to dinner. This evening I was emceeing a fundraiser for a school for autistic kids, and it was a (fairly utilitarian) buffet dinner, not much interesting to write home about, so I opted to default back to lunch.

We were out doing some running around most of the day, and starving. The plan was to pick up a couple of slices of pizza at Wicked Wedge, but when traffic got far too difficult to fight, I told Mike to head home and I’d stir up something great I’d just read about.

I was romanced by the idea of this chickpea salad by Molly at Orangette. Molly calls this a salad, (and who am I to argue with Molly?) and I suppose technically it is what with the oil and lemon, but my idea of a salad usually includes a few more base ingredients. I can’t really go so far as to call it a recipe; it’s more like seasoning a can of chickpeas. She once said something along the lines of “one of life’s greatest skills is the ability to doctor up a can of beans”, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve adapted this a bit, partly because it’s easier around these parts to find a 19 oz can of beans, and partly because I like it with pepper.

It wasn’t as earth-shattering as I hoped, but Mike called it “deeelish“, and I found myself thinking about the leftovers in the fridge. It’s one of those last-second formulas that can round out a meal or create a perfect picnic or lunch at work instantly.

Alongside, some sautéed spinach with garlic. I picked up a bag of local Hotchkiss spinach the other day, thinking about that poached egg on toast with sautéed spinach that was so good so many months ago. The combination was good when you got a bit of garlicky spinach on your fork and anchored it by spearing a few chickpeas.

Chickpeas with Lemon and Parmesan

AuthorJulie

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