Lebanese Chick Pea Salad

As summer is waning, the boy wants to have a last barbeque. Whilst he is busy charring lamb chops, I am whizzing up this Lebanese inspired salad.

1 can chick peas (Garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

1 medium red onion

2 tomatoes

1 bunch coriander (cilantro)

½ a small cucumber

1tsp Za’atar

Olive oil and lemon juice to dress  the salad

Salt & Pepper

The recipe is pretty much just chop, chop, chop, chop. I have put on a CD called The Rough Guide to Bellydance, as it amuses me. I’m not trying it, even though the CD comes with a free instructional DVD.

Za’taar is the secret ingredient  - there are endless variations, and I’m sure the closely guarded family secrets are the best ones. It is essentially a blend of dried oregano, marjoram, sumac, sesame seeds, salt and sometimes cumin. Ours is Palestinian, from Oxfam. It’s super – buy some.

So after doing chop, chop, chop, put it all in a bowl and do mix, mix, mix.

I haven’t given amounts or proportions for the oil and lemon juice dressing as I think this is a really personal decision. The boy and I like our dressings sharp and would do a 1:1 ratio. If you can find it, Kalamata olive oil is awesome. I think the chalkiness of the chickpeas can take it on the sharp side so am generous with the lemon juice. If you don’t like coriander, a mix of mint and flat leaf parsley would also be great.

Check for seasoning, bearing in mind the Za’atar should have done a lot of the work.

Enjoy with the burnt lamb chops. The boy is looking winningly sheepish.