Delicious Salad With Chickpeas And Eggplant
Many of us associate legumes with hot dishes such as stews and soups. However, we can also use them in salads, such as in this chickpea and eggplant salad we’re teaching you to make today. It’s a nutritious, delicious salad that’s perfect for any time of year. Give it a try!
Salad with chickpeas and eggplant
When summer arrives, the mere idea of a warm plate of legumes can make you shiver and keep you from eating them. However, this means avoiding one of the most nutritious and necessary staple foods. But have you thought about eating them in a salad?
In our recipe today we offer you a chickpea and eggplant salad. It’s the perfect combination that reminds us of traditional home-cooked food.
In addition, the high nutritional value of the ingredients makes it an ideal, satisfying and tasty dish, perfect for any time of the year. First, let’s learn a little more about the key ingredients and their health benefits.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas are legumes and therefore a staple food that should be included in any kind of diet. They contain a high content of vegetable proteins and are a source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
They are also rich in vitamin E, thiamine, niacin and folic acid. They also contain high amounts of fiber that promote intestinal transit and make you feel full. Also, they provide 19.4 grams of protein for every 100 grams and only 5 grams of fats or lipids.
Eggplant
Eggplant is a vegetable that offers numerous benefits. It has a high fiber content, minerals and vitamins and is extremely versatile for cooking. All this makes it perfect to include in all types of diets, especially for people who want to lose weight or watch their weight.
Eggplant also contains few calories (38 per 100 grams), since almost 93% of it consists of water. It also contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and iron. It is also rich in flavonoids and antioxidants, which help strengthen the immune system and heart function.
As for the vitamin content, it stands out for:
- thiamine
- riboflavin
- vitamin B6
- ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
- vitamin A
- carotenes
However, keep in mind that you should not eat eggplant raw. This vegetable contains an alkaloid substance called solanine, which is poisonous when consumed raw, but is inactivated when cooked.
We also recommend that you always wash the aubergine well and soak it in salt water. In this way the vegetable loses some of its water and the bitter taste that solanine gives it. After that, you need to cook the eggplant.
Either way, it doesn’t contain enough solanine to cause poisoning, even if you eat it raw. But it will have a bitter taste if you don’t cook it, so it’s better to cook it before eating it.
Chickpea and eggplant salad recipe
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red bell pepper
- vinegar
- 1 onion or chives
- 1 garlic clove
- sliced black olives
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- salt
- basil
- oil
Preparation
- First wash the chickpeas well. Use plenty of water for this and then drain well.
- Then fry the aubergine and the red pepper, which you have cut into pieces. The eggplant in particular needs to be salted well and drained well. That way you eliminate some of the bitter taste that the eggplant has when it’s raw.
- Now combine the vinegar and basil in a small bowl and beat well.
- Then briefly fry all ingredients in a frying pan, except the chickpeas.
- When the ingredients have browned a bit, remove them from the pan and let everything cool. You can eat this salad cold or warm, so it depends on your taste when it’s ready for the next step.
- When cool, add the chickpeas. Then top it off with the vinaigrette you made and mix everything well.
Your salad is now ready. Enjoy it!
