Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

This recipe is a vegetarian spin on a classic chicken salad. Try topping the salad with bell peppers, olives or tomatoes for an even tastier sandwich. This recipe comes to us from Patricia of Grab a Plate.

Cooking Tip of the Week: Chickpeas can be purchased canned or dried. When buying canned look for a low sodium variety. Don’t worry if you don’t have low sodium varieties on hand. Rinsing the beans before use will reduce the sodium content by about 40%.

Food for Thought: Did you know that mustard is made from the tiny seeds of a mustard plant? There are many types of mustard including yellow, spicy brown, whole grain and honey mustard. Dijon (dee-jon) mustard, used in this recipe, is named after the town in eastern France where it was invented. It has a sharp flavor and is made with a little bit of white wine.                       

Family Dinner Conversation Starter: Chickpeas are also called garbanzo beans. Do you have any nicknames? How did you get them?

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 green onions
• 3 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 slices crusty bread

Directions:

Together: Dice the garlic and celery stalk. Slice the green onions thinly.

Kid: Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Transfer to a medium bowl and mash using a fork.

Together:  Add the diced garlic, celery, green onions, mayonnaise and mustard to the bowl, taking care to mix to ensure ingredients are evenly distributed.

Together: Season the chickpea mixture with the cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.

Together: Spread equal amounts chickpea salad on 4 slices of the bread, top with veggies if desired, close each sandwich with the remaining bread and enjoy!