Garbanzo Bean Salad

I love to make what I call refrigerator-drawer salads. Basically, it’s everything left over from the week’s vegetables tossed together to form a harmonious recipe.

I have an equation that I (sort of) follow:
1 part starch to “bind” it together (pasta, faro, beans)
1 part crunch for texture (celery, bell peppers, toasted nuts)
1 part acid (tomato, onion, lemon, vinegar)
1 part soft vegetable (cucumber, mushroom, beets, squash)

One thing that I do not add to my salads is garlic. After a few days of macerating together, the garlic tends to mask everything else.

This week’s salad is one that I am super in love with and enjoying every last bit of it! Yesterday, I mixed it with rice and pork chops – perfection on a plate!

Here’s the recipe:
1 can of organic garbanzo beans (I find that the Bush’s ones are too gritty and many of the other varieties are too oily, so I stick with this one), drained and rinsed.
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper
1 cob of fresh corn, cut from the cob after cooking
15-20 grape tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, finely chopped greens only
3 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS olive oil
2 TBS fresh chopped parsley
1 English cucumber, finely chopped (The skins have all of the nutrients in them, so I prefer these over regular ones.)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix together and add additional vinegar as needed. It is best after sitting for a least an hour.

This recipe would also be great with some orzo or Mexican “watermelon” pasta added. What’s watermelon pasta? It is a great alternative to orzo and generally less than a dollar for a bag. Look for it in your grocer’s Mexican/Ethnic aisle. It resembles the white seeds of watermelons, but is in fact just pasta at a fraction of the cost.