Image via Ffffound |

 

I offer this belly-rubbing recipe in lieu of the promised post about eating vegan in provincial New Zealand, which was abandoned when I realised that eating vegan well in the provinces involves exactly the same thing as eating vegan well in any NZ city: prepare to do it yourself and be grateful whenever you manage to eat out somewhere with a chef who isn’t afraid of vegetables!

This sometimes-lame reality is actually (I truly believe when I am in my right mind & not hangry as hell) one of the good things about specialist eating: to be fully satisfied, you need to do a lot of cooking yourself. And cooking yourself blasts your options wide open…

I threw this salad together with crossed fingers during Wellington’s recent bout of superhot, sea-sparkling, sunbathing weather. It came together in no time and turned out gimme-more delicious; I ended up eating half of the first batch right out of the bowl. Chef’s prerogative ♥ creamy chickpeas, crunchy carrots, a superfresh lemon dressing and lots of fresh herbs.

It is super versatile; salad, sandwich filling or side dish depending on what you need. There is something about the combination of flavours that tastes just like summer.

 

Three-Way Chickpea Carrot Salad with Fresh Lemon-Herb Dressing

 

Ingredients:

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1 medium carrot, grated
1 spring onion, green parts only, finely sliced
juice of one lemon
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
7 large mint leaves, finely chopped
3 large basil leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh coriander, finely chopped
a couple of cracks of fresh black pepper

 

What to do:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Any leftovers will keep well, refrigerated, in an airtight container.

Serves 1-3.