Summer Picnic Chickpea Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing

by | Updated: July 30th, 2018

Perfect for your next summer picnic, this refreshing salad features bright colors and Mediterranean flavors. But you’ll mostly love the homemade creamy dill dressing that coats each bite (if you don’t have dill, you can use any herb to make this dairy-free dressing!). Simply pour it over fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas and arugula. Chef’s tip: If you’re not a fan of green-colored dressings, peel the zucchinis before blending for a more familiar hue.

Homemade Summer Picnic Chickpea Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing | Vitacost.com/Blog

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 cup chickpeas, cooked*
1/2 medium sweet or purple onion
4 Persian cucumbers
2 cups arugula
60 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped, stems removed
4 Tbsp. raw tahini
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon, juiced)
1 Tbsp. capers, in salt
1/4 cup filtered water
2 cups zucchini, roughly chopped (about 1 zucchini)
Salt, to taste

 

Directions

1. Chop onion, cucumbers and tomatoes.

2. In bowl, add arugula, chopped vegetables and chickpeas. Set aside.

3. In high-speed blender, combine tahini, lemon juice, capers, water and zucchini. Blend until smooth and creamy. Taste test, and add salt if necessary.

4. Add dill (or desired herb) and blend on very low simply to incorporate.

5. Pour over chopped vegetables and serve.

*To cook chickpeas: Soak chickpeas overnight in filtered water. Drain water, and rinse really well. Add chickpeas to a pot of boiling water, and cook until soft (45 minutes to 1 hour).

Marina Yanay-Triner

Marina Yanay-Triner of Soul in the Raw is a high-raw vegan blogger, recipe creator, and health coach. Marina went vegan over 6 years ago as a result of her mother’s healing story from a cruel and painful bladder disease, and was able to heal her own extreme PMS symptoms, broken digestion, and grow a new connection with her own body. Marina creates recipes for busy people that are easy, quick, simple and satisfying. Her food is unprocessed, oil-free, and packed with flavor! She is the author of an online course called “The Effortlessly Flavorful Vegan Kitchen”. You can download Marina’s 2-week, whole food plant-based meal plan and grocery list at www.soulintheraw.com/whole-food-plant-based-vegan-meal-plan-grocery-list.