Herby Chickpea Salad With Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Toasted Pine Nuts

Nearly every other week, I make a batch of these slow-cooker chickpeas . I am always astonished by how delicious the chickpeas taste straight from the pot: perfectly cooked and seasoned, all for about five minutes of effort.

In the winter, those chickpeas often become this curry or these taco bowls , and in the summer, I dress them with this cilantro-lime vinaigrette or toss them into this favorite chopped salad .

My latest favorite use for them is in this herby tabbouleh-inspired salad , loaded with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and toasted pine nuts, dressed in a lemon vinaigrette. Whereas tabbouleh is known for being very lemony and parsley-dominant, this salad isn’t quite as sharp or herby, intentionally so as my children don’t love a very acidic dressing.

The good news is that you can tailor this salad to your liking with more herbs, lemon, and veggies of all kind. This time of year, I could eat this salad morning, noon, and night — it is so refreshing, so satisfying, and just so darn tasty, perfect for summer lunches, BBQ side dishes, or packing for the week ahead.

How to Make Herby Chickpea Salad, Step by Step

First, gather your salad ingredients: cooked chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, parlsey, chives, pine nuts and salt.

And your dressing ingredients: honey, white balsamic, lemon, salt, and extra-virgin olive oil.

Start by making your dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together the honey, fresh lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, and salt:

Then stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified:

Directly to this bowl, add 3 cups of cooked chickpeas (or two 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed):

Toss the chickpeas in the dressing, then add the tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and toasted pine nuts:

Add fresh chives and parsley, and season with salt to taste:

Toss to combine, taste, then adjust with more salt or fresh lemon to taste:

Transfer to a serving dish…

… or spoon into storage jars and stash in the fridge for 1-2 days:

Description

Notes:

• Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you are using Morton or fine sea salt, use half as much.
• Chickpeas: I cannot encourage you all enough to make these slow cooker chickpeas : they are SO delicious straight from the pot and so nice to have on hand for chickpea dishes of all kinds. Also: they take five minutes to assemble. Often I make them right before I go to bed (if I need the chickpeas to be ready first thing in the morning) or I do this first thing in the morning (if I want them in time for dinner). If you do not own a slow cooker, here’s my guide for cooking chickpeas from scratch stovetop or in the Instant Pot.

For the dressing:

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup pine nuts

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas, see notes above, or two 15-oz cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed

• 3 cups halved cherry tomatoes

• 2 cups diced cucumber (from 1 English cucumber)

• 1 cup diced red onion (from 1 small onion)

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

• flaky sea salt to taste

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, white balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified.
2. Place the pine nuts in a small skillet and set over low heat on the stovetop. Toast the nuts slowly while you prep the salad, and stir them occasionally. Remove the nuts from the heat when they are lightly browned and smell nutty.
3. To the large bowl of dressing, add the chickpeas. Toss the chickpeas with the dressing to coat, then add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, the toasted pine nuts, and the herbs. Toss to combine, then taste. Add more kosher salt or flaky sea salt to taste if it tastes under seasoned. Add more lemon or vinegar if you are looking for more acidity/bite.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl or transfer to storage vessels and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Note: It won’t go bad after 2 days, but it does begin to tire after 2 days.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Amerian

Description

Notes:

• Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you are using Morton or fine sea salt, use half as much.
• Chickpeas: I cannot encourage you all enough to make these slow cooker chickpeas : they are SO delicious straight from the pot and so nice to have on hand for chickpea dishes of all kinds. Also: they take five minutes to assemble. Often I make them right before I go to bed (if I need the chickpeas to be ready first thing in the morning) or I do this first thing in the morning (if I want them in time for dinner). If you do not own a slow cooker, here’s my guide for cooking chickpeas from scratch stovetop or in the Instant Pot.

For the dressing:

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup pine nuts

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas, see notes above, or two 15-oz cans of chickpeas drained and rinsed

• 3 cups halved cherry tomatoes

• 2 cups diced cucumber (from 1 English cucumber)

• 1 cup diced red onion (from 1 small onion)

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

• flaky sea salt to taste

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, white balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified.
2. Place the pine nuts in a small skillet and set over low heat on the stovetop. Toast the nuts slowly while you prep the salad, and stir them occasionally. Remove the nuts from the heat when they are lightly browned and smell nutty.
3. To the large bowl of dressing, add the chickpeas. Toss the chickpeas with the dressing to coat, then add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, the toasted pine nuts, and the herbs. Toss to combine, then taste. Add more kosher salt or flaky sea salt to taste if it tastes under seasoned. Add more lemon or vinegar if you are looking for more acidity/bite.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl or transfer to storage vessels and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Note: It won’t go bad after 2 days, but it does begin to tire after 2 days.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Cuisine: Amerian

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2025/06/14/herby-chickpea-salad-with-tomatoes-cucumbers-toasted-pine-nuts/

The best way to use up your sourdough discard? In more bread, of course! This recipe will show you how to make the simplest of simple bread recipes using your sourdough discard, and it will produce a soft but sturdy loaf, great for toast and sandwiches . 🍞🍞

There are countless recipes well-suited for using sourdough discard in place of some of the flour and water, but my favorite way to use it is as follows: in any bread recipe. My family subsists on toas t and sandwiches, so I often use my discard in this favorite simple sandwich bread recipe or in this even simpler toasting loaf (recipe below), which is soft but sturdy, excellent, of course, for toast, but also great for sandwiches when freshly baked.

Whereas the sandwich bread recipe calls for milk and melted butter, this one calls for water alone, plus a small amount of honey, which lends the subtlest sweetness, promotes browning, and helps keep the bread soft. It can be omitted if you prefer. Find step-by-step instructions below.

How to Make Simple Sourdough Discard Toasting Bread, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: flour, water, salt, sourdough discard, instant yeast, and, optionally, honey (or other sweetener).

In a large bowl combine the water, honey (if using), salt, and instant yeast.

Stir to dissolve the salt and honey.

Add 200 grams of sourdough discard (see recipe box if you’d like to use less).

Stir to combine.

Add the flour.

And stir until you have a wet, sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.

Then perform a series of stretches as folds using a wet hand. Here’s video guidance:

Cover the bowl again and let the dough rise …

… until it doubles in volume.

Using a flexible bowl scraper, deflate the dough by pulling it from the sides of the bowl and into the center. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll into a coil. Here’s video guidance:

Deflated dough:

Turned out dough:

Rectangle:

Drizzle the loaf lightly with olive oil, and rub to coat.

Let rise until the dough crowns the rim of the loaf pan.

Bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.

Then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

This bread freezes beautifully.

It’s great for sandwiches when freshly baked:

And, of course, makes excellent toast:

Description

This recipe will show you how to make the simplest of simple bread recipes using your sourdough discard, and it will produce a soft but sturdy loaf, great for toast and sandwiches. 🍞🍞🍞

Notes:

• For best results, please use a scale to measure.
• Yeast: SAF instant yeast is my preference. If you are using active dry yeast, sprinkle it over the water and let it bloom for 15 minutes before proceeding.
• Salt: The rule of thumb with bread is that the weight of the salt should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. For this recipe that is 10 to 15 grams. I always use 15 grams of salt, and I do not find the bread to be too salty, but, as you know, I have a high salt tolerance. Use an amount appropriate to your tastes and preferences. Finally, I always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, but you can use fine sea salt or whatever salt you like.
• Sourdough Discard: You can use either freshly discarded discard (as in from a room-temperature feeding of your starter) or you can use discard you’ve had in the fridge (ideally not older than 2 weeks). Ideally, you are feeding your starter at 100% hydration, meaning equal parts by weight flour and water, which is the hydration of the starter I use in all of my sourdough bread recipes. You can use as much or as little sourdough discard here as you like but adjust the recipe accordingly: if, for example, you want to use 100 grams of discard, use 350 grams of water and 500 grams of flour.
• The pan: I am using this 9×5-inch USA pan . You could use a 10×5-inch loaf pan here as well. An 8×4-inch pan might be too small here.

Please read all notes above before proceeding:

• 300 grams (about 1 1/3 cups ) water, cold or room temperature
• 4 grams ( 1 teaspoon ) instant yeast
• 10 to 15 grams ( 2 to 3 teaspoons) salt
• 21 grams ( 1 tablespoon ) honey or other sweetener, optional
• 200 grams (about 1 cup ) sourdough discard
• 450 grams (about 3.5 cups ) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• softened butter for greasing
• olive oil for drizzling

1. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, combine the water, instant yeast, salt, and honey (if using). Stir to dissolve the salt and honey. Add the sourdough discard and stir to combine. Add the flour, and stir until you have a wet, sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Using a wet hand, stretch and fold the dough by grabbing an edge and pulling it up and towards the center. Repeat this stretching and folding process, moving your hand around the edge of the dough with every set of stretches and folds. As you stretch and fold, you should feel the dough transform from being sticky and shaggy to smooth and cohesive. Find video guidance here .
3. Let it rise: Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has doubled in volume, roughly 2 to 3 hours. Note: Depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the time of year, this may take more or less time. Rely on the visual cues (doubling) more than the timing.
4. Prepare a loaf pan: Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with softened butter.
5. Coil up your dough: Deflate the dough using your hand or a flexible bench scraper, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat it into a rectangle roughly 8 by 16 inches (Note: the length isn’t as important as the width: don’t go much wider than 8 inches or you will have to squish it into your loaf pan). Starting at the small end, roll the dough into a tight coil. Transfer it to your prepared pan. Pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the surface and rub to coat. Find video guidance here .
6. Final rise: Let the dough rise until it crowns the rim of your pan, roughly 1 hour. When your dough begins approaching the rim (or roughly 30 minutes after you place the dough in the loaf pan), preheat your oven to 375ºF.
7. Bake it: Bake for 45 minutes.
8. Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely (if you have the patience) before slicing — it is much easier to slice the bread into thin, uniform slices when the bread has cooled completely.
9. Store the bread in an airtight bag or vessel at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

• Prep Time: 3 hours
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Bread
• Method: yeast, sourdough
• Cuisine: Amerian