Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

Toasts topped with chickpea “tuna” salad and pea tendrils

This is way better than tuna salad‒ no mercury, way more vegetables. If you have smaller pieces of bread or thick / chewy bread, I recommend open face sandwiches. Garnish with more herbs, sprouts or pea tendrils.

Yield: 4-6 servings 

Salad:
1 ½ c. perfectly cooked chickpeas or 1 can chickpeas
⅓ c. celery, thick strings peeled, small dice
⅓ c. grated carrot
2 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. cayenne pepper
½ t. salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 T. dill fronds, roughly chopped
1 T. flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 T. lemon juice
⅓ c. mayo
1 medium radish or 2 small radishes, very thin matchsticks

Drain chickpeas thoroughly (rinse if using canned). Add to food processor and pulse 8-10 times, until almost all chickpeas are broken up, but not uniform. Add celery, carrot, green onions, spices and salt. Pulse until combined, scrape down sides as needed.. Add herbs and pulse until well distributed. Add lemon juice + mayo, pulse until well mixed, scrape down sides as needed. Chickpeas should be uniform and the mixture should be tight enough to stand on its own. (If it is too loose, I recommend adding more shredded carrot.) Mix radish in with a spatula, if using (remove blade or transfer to mixing bowl.) Transfer to airtight container. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Flavor and texture will be best if refrigerated overnight.

Sandwiches:
8-12 slices multigrain bread, toasted
1 - 1 ½ c. arugula or 8-12 romaine leaves, if desired
Salt, oil + vinegar (see note below)
6 T. chickpea tuna salad (a round ⅓ cup)
4 - 6 T. mayo, if desired

Once toasted bread is cool to the touch (1-2 minutes), build sandwiches on a cutting board. Place arugula or romaine on bottom slices and salt lightly. Add chickpea salad and spread evenly. Add 1 T. mayo to the top slice of bread, if using. Close sandwiches and cut in half widthwise.

I insist on seasoning lettuce leaves. I keep a small spritz bottle of white wine vinegar and season each leaf with vinegar and salt. There’s nothing worse than a sandwich or burger where the necessary crunch is flavorless‒ the absolute worst is when you can taste the water on a wet piece of lettuce! Cooking is a battle against dilution, a few teaspoons of water trapped on greens can wash out all the other flavors you built.

Spritzing tender greens with oil and vinegar keeps them light and fluffy. I like to use walnut oil or avocado oil and white wine vinegar. Sometimes I use olive oil and red wine vinegar.