Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad
A fine brown-bag lunch, don't you agree?
Nothing fancy: just tahini, scallion, lemon, chickpeas (from a can), zucchini, garlic, yam, and parsley.
Merrill cubed the yam -- about 3/4-inch cubes.
Cubed zucchini with lemon onlookers.
Rivka has you saute the rinsed and drained chickpeas with a little olive oil and garlic -- a step that really transforms them into a flavorful contributor (no more can taste!).
Amanda and Merrill seasoned the yams and dressed them with oil before roasting.
Um, where will they fit?
Amanda talked to her best friend, her coffee mug, while Allie worked hard in the background.
Merrill sliced the scallions ... so thinly!
The garlic that sauteed with the chickpeas got a second use -- chopped and added to the dressing. No waste!
Amanda juiced the lemon.
Everyone at work, while Merrill measured out the tahini for the dressing.
Lemon juice, lemon zest and tahini were blended first.
Then we whisked in the oil, and a little water.
Once the yams were nearly tender, we added the zucchini (and more seasoning) to the pan.
It was time for Amanda to whip out her king of pot holders!
The fully roasted yams and zucchini.
It was time to pull everything together -- the vegetables and chickpeas first.
Next, the dressing with the scallions and parsley tossed in at the same time.
We were getting ready to food style.
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A&M say: This is a dish that could easily be weighed down with starch, but Rivka keeps it fleet of foot by dropping zucchini into the mix of yam and chickpeas and by dressing it all with a zippy lemon and tahini vinaigrette. You can eat it warm or cold, in your packed lunch or as a side dish for roasted chicken. We'd be happy with all of the above. - A&M
Rivka says: After reading a great post by Heidi at 101cookbooks about a lemony chickpea-zucchini salad, early last year, I set to work to make something similar. Armed with yams, zucchini, chickpeas, and tahini, I cobbled together a salad that was so, so much more than the sum of it parts, it practically shocked me. No sooner had I made the salad and begun to post about it, something weird happened: I started seeing similar combinations popping up all over the place. This is a salad that needs to be known, needs to be made, needs to be eaten. - Rivka
Makes lunch for a few days
For the salad
- 2 yams or sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 sprigs parsley, leaves finely chopped
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced on bias
- olive oil
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone.
- Spread diced sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes, then add zucchini and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until both vegetables are softened inside and caramelized in spots. If vegetables haven't caramelized at that point, pop them under the broiler for 3 minutes, and they'll brown plenty.
- In a small frying pan over medium heat, saute chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (just enough to moisten) for about 3 minutes, until the chickpeas dry out a bit and are warmed through. Remove garlic cloves, chop finely, and reserve for dressing.
- In a medium bowl, mix chickpeas with yams and zucchini. Add parsley and scallions, and toss to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and half of chopped garlic. Add water by the teaspoon until the dressing is smooth and runny. Taste, and add additional chopped garlic if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve warm or room temperature.
- Your Best Brown Bag Lunch Contest Finalist!
Tags: Easy, keeps well




about 1 month ago sashimi
Such an excellent recipe! A very refreshing take on a salad. I particularly love the dressing. Can't wait to try it on other dishes! Only thing is that it wasn't quite as good the second day as it was when it was fresh.
4 months ago hakim54
Love this recipe..
4 months ago thomasc
delish - had this tonight, really enjoyed the texture of the yams. This will be lunch tomorrow.
4 months ago Rivka
So glad you liked it!
6 months ago Jeeves06
Delicious (and nutritious!!)
6 months ago Jeeves06
Delicious (and nutritious!!)
8 months ago Erin Butterworth
This was so delicious and healthy. I made it for my Mom and we loved every bite.
Nice work.
9 months ago Purple Kale
Looks fantastic! I must try this:)
11 months ago BoulderGalinTokyo
This dish was delicious and very filling--I could see becoming vegetarian just to eat more wonderful combinations of flavors. Thanks Rivka!
about 1 year ago erinrae
I just made this and had to stop myself from eating it all at once. Seriously, double this! Also, I would cut the vegetables into smaller pieces, maybe 1/2-3/4 inch. I recommend letting the dish sit for a bit, as the warm vegetables take a minute or two to soak up the dressing.
almost 2 years ago foodieinthemaking
Yummy!! Love this warm salad. Now that I've tasted the flavors, I can easily see subbing out these veggies for a number of others. I think any root veggies would work great. Thanks for this one.
almost 2 years ago allinonepot
so delicious! I also added some roasted acorn squash. Yum!
almost 2 years ago Skinnyfatkid
Skinny Fat Kid loves sweet potatoes. This looks perfect as a side dish for the first grilling nights!
almost 2 years ago nicci
I made this yesterday with some locally grown sweet potatoes. It turned out delicious (though I forgot to line the baking pan w/ parchment) and is even better today. I try to cook mostly vegan/vegetarian, so this was a perfect recipe to try. My boyfriend loved it too. Thank you for sharing!
about 2 years ago ChefJune
Made this recently and we had trouble not eating it all at once! The mouthfeel of the roasted sweet potato chunks was so seductive. Since we don't care for tahini, I subbed Dijon mustard in the vinaigrette. It will be a staple at Chez Julia. Milles mercis!
about 2 years ago Rivka
Thanks, ChefJune! Glad you enjoyed it,
almost 2 years ago amandam1
I did that as well. SO GOOD!!! And I just had the leftovers for lunch, I swear it got better. A great new Meatless Monday recipe in my file. Thanks Rivka!
about 2 years ago james_edward_cole
This was sooo delicious, and relatively filling! I Am out in the middle of nowhere for school and couldn't get my hands on Tahini, so instead I used the pasty part of some coconut milk. Worked out great and made the dressing extra rich!
about 2 years ago Rivka
ooh, interesting substitution -- I like that idea. Bet you could add some red chili and give the dish Thai-inspired flavor.
about 2 years ago thallium520
OMG! I made this last night and it was amazing! I substituted cilantro for the parsley and it was delicious!
about 2 years ago GSmodden
I just made this. It's absolutely delicious. I went with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, b/c I started off with one, but chickpeas seemed to soak that up pretty fast and I wanted it to be creamy for my leftover bag lunch. Thanks for this recipe. I enjoyed it very much.
over 2 years ago LiveToEat1960
The combination of flavors in the recipe is wonderful! Thanks so much for posting it.
over 2 years ago likestocooklovestoeat
We made this the other evening as a side dish for chicken, and I took some for lunch the next day; I can't recommend it highly enough. Full of flavor, nicely balanced and completely delicious - it instantly won the "Best Side Dish of 2010" in our house. Thank you!
over 2 years ago Rivka
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I also made a big batch for lunches this week -- easy as pie.
over 2 years ago SuzChef
O.M.G.!! This is probably the best thing I ever ate!
over 2 years ago Rivka
I am so glad you liked it!