Author Notes
This easy salad combines sweet zucchini with nutty chickpeas and tart green apples. Tied together with fragrant curry powder and creamy yogurt, lemon juice and fresh herbs add bright contrasting notes. This salad would make a great side for a celebratory barbecue or picnic.
Note: Don't look too hard for the green apples in the photo...it was a last minute addition, and unfortunately the salad was consumed before a camera could snap another picture. Please do not leave them out; they add a wonderful contrasting crunch and tart sweetness that I think makes the salad special. - gingerroot —gingerroot
Test Kitchen Notes
I can't imagine a better picnic dish. This salad, a particularly attractive study in greens, is simple and straightforward to make, with a fabulous variety of textures and flavors -- apples, zucchini and chickpeas -- that all come together in the surprisingly creamy curry sauce. I'd never have imagined only one tablespoon of yogurt could produce such an effect! - nogaga —nogaga
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Ingredients
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1
small zucchini, scrubbed
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2
cloves garlic, minced
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1 1/2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
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1/2 teaspoon
curry powder
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2 cups
cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed in a colander (canned are okay)
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3 tablespoons
Italian parsley, minced
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3 tablespoons
cilantro (including tender stems), minced
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1 tablespoon
Greek yogurt
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scant 1 teaspoons
lemon juice
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1
scallion, finely sliced
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1/4 cup
green apple, small dice
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sea salt
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Ground black pepper
Directions
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Trim stem end of zucchini and discard. Halve lengthwise. Quarter each zucchini half lengthwise, making skinny wedges and chop.
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Heat oil over medium heat in small sauté pan. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add zucchini and sauté till zucchini begins to soften, about five minutes.
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Add curry powder and season with a pinch of sea salt, stirring to combine. Cook for 1 minute more. Take pan off heat and set aside.
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Transfer chickpeas from colander to a medium sized bowl. Add parsley, cilantro, yogurt, lemon juice, scallions and green apple.
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Fold curried zucchini into chickpea mixture. Stir to combine, seasoning with salt and black pepper to taste. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
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When ready to serve, allow salad to sit out a bit to take chill off and enjoy!
My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
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