Eggplant is one of our favourite vegetables, and we are always looking to add more eggplant recipes to our collection.
Our Chickpea Salad with Grilled Eggplant is a quick and easy recipe full of fresh Mediterranean flavours and its a great way to get more eggplant goodness into your life. It is SO easy to make, and has relatively few ingredients, making it perfect for a weeknight meal. The chickpea salad holds up well in the fridge and can be made ahead of time making it a great dish for activities like camping or boating where you want to eat great food, but spend as little time as possible cooking at your destination.
If you are not familiar with Ajvar, it is a red pepper based condiment that is popular in the Balkans. We like to use it to save time when we would like to incorporate a red pepper flavour into a dish. If you can't find it at your grocery store, you can simply substitute for two roasted red peppers that you have chopped.
This recipe uses an indoor grill to cook the eggplant, but feel free to use your BBQ!
Ingredients for Chickpea Salad with Grilled Eggplant
- Chickpeas
- Ajvar (or chopped roasted red peppers)
- Feta cheese
- Spanish Olives
- Eggplant
- Spinach
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Tamari
- Garlic
Equipment:
- cast iron grill pan, indoor grill or BBQ
How to Make Chickpea Salad with Grilled Eggplant:
- Mix together the chickpeas, Ajvar, crumbled feta and olives to make the chickpea salad
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients, brush a little on the eggplant slices and grill them
- Place some spinach on a plate or bowl, top with grilled eggplant slices, then top with the chickpea salad. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and enjoy!
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Chickpea Salad with Grilled Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant - cut into ¼ inch slices
- 2 cups chickpeas
- ½ cup Ajvar - or 2 roasted red peppers, chopped
- 1 cup feta cheese - crumbled
- ½ cup Spanish olives - or black olives
- 6 cups spinach
Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoons Tamari
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
Instructions
- Combine the chickpeas, Avjar, feta cheese and olives to make the chickpea salad.
- Heat a grill pan, or grill to medium high heat. Mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tamari, and minced garlic to make the dressing.
- Brush both side of each slice of eggplant with the dressing and grill turning once. Each side should cook for about 3-4 minutes.
- Place the spinach on your plate or bowl, add the slices of grilled eggplant, then top with the chickpea salad mixture. Drizzle any remaining dressing over each salad and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Pearl Rodrigues says
Everything about this salad makes me feel happy. From the chickpea to the spinach, I love all of it. Thanks for the recipe.
Courtney says
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
Elizabeth says
I've never heard of ajvar before but I love the sound of it! The whole recipe sounds gorgeous!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
I love the plating you've done for this salad -- it looks like a high end restaurant dish -- but at home!
Shanna Jones says
Love that you grilled the eggplant. It brings out such great flavors. I'll need to try this chickpea and eggplant combination. Seems really easy to make!