Some meals leave you feeling heavier than when you sat down. This one does the opposite. A big bowl of chickpeas, blistered roasted vegetables and a red capsicum mayo the colour of a late sunset, and somehow you finish it lighter and steadier than you started.
I keep coming back to this chickpea salad in the cooler months, when I want something warm through the middle but not the kind of dinner that flattens you afterwards. Chickpeas do a quiet job here. They give you slow-release fuel and a good dose of fibre, which is part of why a plate like this tends to sit so kindly with your gut and your energy for the rest of the evening.
Our executive chef James Knight put it well when he first shared this one. As he said, “Bring on those cooler nights with this hearty salad that is full of texture and flavour… The vitamin C content in capsicum is surprisingly high and they pack a good amount of antioxidants also.” I’ll admit the red pepper mayo is the part I make a double batch of every single time, purely so there’s some left in the fridge for the next day.
Ingredients
Red pepper mayo (Makes 3 cups)
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon plus the juice of 2 lemons
- 300g roma tomatoes, roasted
- 30g roasted garlic
- 1 tsp finely chopped red chili
- 3 tbs Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 3 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp herb salt
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 200g roasted capsicums
- Small handful fresh basil
Salad ingredients
- 300 mixed chopped vegetables, such as zucchini, capsicum, onion, eggplant (or vegetables of your choice)
- 50g baby spinach, sliced
- 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 200g cooked chickpeas
- 1 tbs fresh chopped basil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Method
- Preheat oven to 180oC and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place all Red pepper mayo ingredients in a blender, season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the chopped mixed vegetables on the lined tray and bake for 15 minutes. Cool.
- Place roasted vegetables in a bowl and add remaining salad ingredients. Combine gently and drizzle over ¼ cup of the red pepper mayo dressing.
- Serve by itself or with fish or chicken.
Tip: Extra dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Serves 6.
Serving, make-ahead and small variations
This is a salad that rewards a little planning. The red pepper mayo keeps for a week or two in the fridge, so I’ll often blend it on a Sunday and let it earn its place across a few meals. A spoonful turns a plain bowl of grains into lunch, and it’s lovely stirred through a warm quinoa skillet if you want something more substantial midweek.
Roast the vegetables ahead too. They hold beautifully overnight, and there’s a case for making a little extra, since roasted zucchini and eggplant have a way of disappearing straight off the tray. When it comes together, keep the baby spinach and basil until the last moment so they stay bright rather than wilting into the warm veg.
James is right that it plays well with braised meats or baked seafood. I’ve served it alongside poached salmon for a slower weekend dinner, and it holds its own next to a whole barbecued fish in summer. On its own it’s a proper meatless main, and a genuinely good one for anyone building more plant-forward meals into the week. Chickpeas and vegetables like these bring the kind of fibre and slow energy that Better Health Victoria points to when it talks about legumes, and it’s a small, easy way to eat a bit more of the good stuff without much fuss.
— Tanya Pryce, Golden Door Living
