Fresh Garbanzo Bean and Grilled Zucchini Salad

By Fairmount_market • July 4, 2012 • 0 Comments

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Author Notes: I discovered fresh garbanzo beans this past weekend and was completely charmed. They come in their own private pods (no cramming together like the English peas) and they have a lovely fresh and grassy taste. I created this salad for them with Middle Eastern flavors, but nothing too strong to overwhelm the freshness of the peas. This recipe calls for grilled zucchini; lighting up a grill for a single zucchini would be rather excessive (use a grill pan or broiler), but it makes a lot of sense if you’re including this salad in a menu of grilled food. We enjoyed this salad with grilled flatbread and kofta kebabs. - Fairmount_market

Serves 2-3

1 cup shelled fresh garbanzo beans
1 medium zucchini
2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling the zucchini
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
6-8 mint leaves, thinly sliced

Prepare the dressing. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry hot skillet. Crush slightly with a mortar and pestle. Combine with the lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and grind of pepper and whisk until emulsified.
Rinse the spinach leaves and chop into ½ inch strips. Toss well with half of the dressing, and arrange on a platter.
Cut the stem and blossom ends off the zucchini and slice lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over a medium hot grill about 3 minutes per side until soft and just slightly charred. Layer over the dressed spinach leaves.
Steam the shelled garbanzo beans for 2 minutes until they are a brilliant green. Layer them on top of the grilled zucchini. Sprinkle over the crumbled feta cheese, pour over the rest of the dressing, and top with the mint leaves slices.