Spicy Shrimp and Chickpea Salad

by Susan Hanna

This refreshing and nutritious salad from the New York Times combines chickpeas with succulent shrimp. Toss chickpeas, onion, chile and parsley with a citrus-mustard-oil dressing. Cook shrimp with garlic and red pepper flakes, squeeze lime juice over and serve them on top of the chickpea salad. Cook’s note: Canned chickpeas are fine for this, but if you have time, try soaking and cooking dried chickpeas — the flavour and texture are better. One cup of dried chickpeas will yield the same amount as two 15-ounce/443 ml cans.

Serves 3-4.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Use a fresh lemon and lime. I used President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon, which is additive-free. If you are using canned chickpeas, look for a brand without preservatives, such as Blue Menu or Unico. Look for frozen shrimp with only salt added. For more recipes using all-natural ingredients, visit Eye For a Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 lime, zested and halved
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard
• 5 tablespoons (75 ml) olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 (15-ounce/443-ml) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ small red onion, diced (about ¼ cup/60 ml)
• 1 Fresno chile or jalapeño, cut into thin coins or seeded and diced
• 1 packed cup parsley leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated or minced
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) red-pepper flakes
• 1 pound (454 g) shrimp, peeled and deveined, patted dry

Preparation:

1. In a large serving bowl, combine the lemon zest and juice, lime zest and mustard. Whisk in 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Add the chickpeas, onion, chile and most of the parsley (reserving some for garnish) and toss to coat with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil in a 12-inch (30-cm) skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, pulling the pan from the heat briefly if it seems like the garlic is burning.
3. Add the shrimp to the pan, season with salt and pepper and stir to coat with the garlic and oil. Cook until the shrimp are pink all over with a golden crust in parts, stirring and flipping the shrimp halfway through, about 4 to 6 minutes total. Turn off the heat, then squeeze the lime juice over the shrimp in the pan, stirring to combine and scraping up anything on the bottom of the pan to coat the shrimp.
4. Serve the shrimp on top of the salad. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.

From NYT Cooking