{"id":7745,"date":"2017-01-22T10:55:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T21:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/?p=7745"},"modified":"2019-11-05T13:46:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T00:46:23","slug":"chickpea-sorghum-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/chickpea-sorghum-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Chickpea Sorghum Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"
A delicious Chickpea Sorghum Salad filled with fresh herbs and spices. Sorghum is a gluten-free grain hailing from Africa with a lovely mild taste and chewy texture. Packed with B-group vitamins, protein, fibre and spectacular colour!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I feel like I am running with a theme here, after using that lovely rich pomegranate molasses and lemony sumac in my last post - the Radical Roasted Beet Hummus<\/a>.<\/p>\n So today's recipe is a Middle Eastern inspired, flavoursome summer salad - think tabbouli, but with that gorgeous sorghum, and a few added extras - purely to add spectacular colour.<\/p>\n [bctt tweet=\"Colourful Chickpea Sorghum Salad: naturally gluten-free + packed with fresh herbs + spices.\" username=\"laurenglucina\"]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A traditional tabbouli is made with bulgur wheat, finely chopped parsley, mint, tomato, cucumber and onion, tossed in a simple olive oil, lemon and garlic dressing.<\/p>\n This sorghum salad is only very loosely based on the classic. If you haven't dabbled with any sorghum<\/strong> recipes yet - then start with this one. It is a delightfully chewy gluten-free grain, that makes for a fabulous alternative to bulgur.<\/p>\n I've written a more detailed post on the nutrition and health benefits of sorghum<\/a> here, but in a nutshell, it is:<\/p>\n I often add a protein<\/a> source to my salads since they make for a more balanced meal. I opted for pre-cooked chickpeas, and decided to toss them liberally in Middle Eastern spices, then toast them up a little in a hot pan.<\/p>\n I went for a spice blend called za'atar,<\/strong> which is commonly a mixture of dried thyme, marjoram, oregano and sumac, with sea salt and toasted sesame seeds. This particular blend is popular in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. It is used liberally to season freshly baked bread, meat and vegetarian dishes, and has a slightly citrusy, tangy, earthy, nutty flavour.<\/p>\n In addition to the za'atar, I added a little ground cumin, paprika and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzled quality olive oil over the top.<\/p>\n Although I crisped them up in a frying pan, you could skip this part and just add the spiced chickpeas straight to the salad. If you go for the toasted option, make sure the chickpeas are as dry as humanly possible before you heat them, otherwise they'll remain soft.<\/p>\n I'm always looking to add colour wherever possible to my meals - because it is in the brightly coloured pigments of plant foods that all those beautiful protective phytochemicals are concentrated.<\/p>\n This is a relatively simple salad to prepare. However, sorghum, being a little chewier in texture than other grains, needs a longer cooking time and requires a greater water to grain ratio.<\/p>\n I recommend soaking the sorghum in ample water with a splash of apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice), for 24 hours before cooking.<\/p>\n The soaking process helps to neutralise the anti-nutrients inherent in the outer bran, whilst the apple cider adds acidity and lowers the pH, helping facilitate the process.<\/p>\n As for the rest of the ingredients, there are two slightly more time consuming components. Firstly - the toasted chickpeas - which is totally optional, you can just as easily add them straight to the salad once they've been tossed in oil and spice.<\/p>\n Secondly, I blackened the capsicum in the oven, then peeled the skin off, removed the seeds and sliced it thin (totally yum). Again, this is optional, but if you're time-poor, you might want to keep them fresh and raw.<\/p>\n Anyway - just make this recipe your own - there are quite a few elements so you can simplify if you like, and create something more along the lines of a traditional tabbouli. And if you are of the more-is-better mindset - then I highly recommend these easy-to-make, tangy delicious Preserved Lemons.<\/a><\/p>\n To serve, I had the Radical Roasted Beet Hummus<\/a> from last week, and a side of crusty gluten free bread. My partner preferred to add a piece of fish. The recipe will make a large salad enough to serve 4-6, it tastes delish the next day. Hope you enjoy!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you make and enjoy this recipe, please leave a rating below. And better yet – leave me a comment to tell me how you got on, or just say hi – I LOVE hearing from you. Follow me on <\/em>Instagram,<\/a> Facebook<\/a><\/em> or Pinterest<\/a> to see more of my everyday recipes and wellness tips.<\/em><\/p>\n If you’d like to chat with me about essential oils, or book in a class, you can do that here<\/a>. If you’re after a Naturopathic consult, read more here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n
Chickpeas and Spices<\/h2>\n
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Sorghum Salad: Crazy for colour<\/h2>\n
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How to cook Sorghum<\/h2>\n
Putting the Salad together<\/h2>\n
More Epic Salads<\/h2>\n
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\ud83d\udcd6Recipe<\/h2>
Chickpea Sorghum Salad<\/h2>\n