Meet my new favorite salad for late summer days. The ripest tomatoes meet the crispiest chickpeas meet the jazziest mayo sauce. Juicy and crunchy, sweet and spicy, the combination of textures and flavors is special, especially when considering the effort-to-reward ratio. Even better, it’ll teach you a very fun, very delicious way to cook chickpeas—a method you can and should apply to other salads all year long.
The key to crispy chickpea bliss? Mayonnaise. I’ve long sung the praises of mayo marinades for grilled vegetables, chicken, and fish, but as it turns out, shellacking your chickpeas in mayo promotes a gorgeous crackly crust and imparts rich flavor. Which makes sense: Mayo is an emulsification of oil and eggs, so it binds better than oil alone and carries along more flavor in the process. To up the crispness factor even more, I found that first tossing the little orbs in cornstarch, then mayo, led to the most delicious, craggy crust—almost like miniature hush puppies that have been deep-fat fried. Fortunately, no big pots of hot oil are needed here—just a skillet over a medium flame.
A few notes: Here I’ve jazzed up the mayo with chile sauce, paprika, and lemon, but feel free to change up the spices and seasonings based on what you have on hand.
Want to double the chickpeas? Go for it! Toss them in double the cornstarch and mayo, and follow the instructions as written. Two cans-worth will fit in a 12-inch skillet.
Serve the salad on its own for a lighter lunch or dinner, or with crusty bread, grilled cheese, or lightly dressed greens for a more substantial meal. Or, pair it with any number of meat, fish, or vegetable dishes for a simple late summer spread. —EmilyC
It's the end of the long workday (or the start of an extra-long week) and we're hungry. Like, "can't-think-straight" hungry. Luckily, Food52 contributor EmilyC wants to do all the thinking for us. In Dinner's Ready, her twice-a-month column on weeknight wonders, Emily shares simple, flavor-packed recipes that'll have a good meal on the table in no time. —The Editors
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