Smashed Chickpea Salad

fancy office paper plate

I can't believe I haven't shared my favorite sandwich yet! This is a Smitten Kitchen recipe, of course, and it's extremely versatile. I like to make a big tupperware of it over the weekend so I have a week's worth of lunches. It goes great on toasted bread, in a wrap, or just over a bed of lettuce in salad form. On this particular day, I ate it on toasted ciabatta with some turkey, greens, and goddess dressing. It totally doesn't need turkey, I was just in a non-vegetarian mood.

Smashed Chickpea Salad
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I used dried chickpeas, thanks G&E!)
2 tbsp chopped olives (I used Manzanillo but any will do)
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion or shallot
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, basil, or other herbs
zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt, freshly-ground pepper, and hot sauce/red pepper flakes/cayenne pepper to taste
olive oil, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl except for the olive oil. With a potato masher or other utensil, smash the chickpeas about halfway (you don't want it to be complete mush). Add olive oil, a tsp at a time, until at the desired consistency.

In the past I've added other veggies to this like chopped artichokes or roasted red peppers. All good additions.