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Recipe Review: Apricot Pistachio Salad with Cilantro Lemon Dressing (Cardamom & Tea)




Warning---more prose than usual. I'll try not to do that too often.
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I've been trying to intentionally cook vegetarian meals at least twice a week. I like MOST vegetables, but the ones I don't like, I REALLY don't like (I'm looking at you, eggplant).

I also have legume/bean issues.  This makes it hard to cook vegetarian as I also want to be low-carb and my hypoglycemic-self needs some protein.

So understand that it is with some measure of pride that I substituted chickpeas for cannellini beans in the recipe below.  I actually LIKE cannellini beans (one of the few), but we had none in the cupboard. What we did have was a can of chickpeas, of which I'm not a fan. But it turns out I'm even less of a fan of walking to the store in 88% humidity for one can of cannellini beans. So, I opened the can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas to make sure they were still ok (that can was there for a looooooooooong time), and here's where the pride comes in:

I ccouldn't do much about the texture, but certainly I figured I could do something about the taste (or lack thereof). I drained and rinsed the chickpeas and then salted the heck out of them and tossed them with some paprika. Then they sat in the fridge for several hours.  This was...

A GOOD, GOOD IDEA! 

I actually....liked them.  I mean, enjoyed eating them. Miracles can happen with salt, evidently.

OK, now why you are really here. If you haven't visited Kathryn Pauline's beautiful blog Cardamom & Tea, you are missing out. The focus is Assyrian cuisine, so this will count as part of that Other Cultures Cooking Project I began long ago...  She's also a tremendous photographer, so if you like food p*** (sorry, I don't want this showing up in a weird Google search), you should follow her on Instagram.

RECIPE:


Apricot Pistachio Salad with Cilantro Lemon Dressing

Substitutions:

  • garbanzo beans/chickpeas for cannellini beans
  • roasted, unsalted pistachios instead of raw pistachios
If you don't like blue cheese or cilantro, she gives you other options. If you don't like blue cheese or cilantro, we may not get along, but that's ok. Kidding, of course.  But if you DO like cilantro--MAKE THIS DRESSING! 

Otherwise known as Rebecca's Chickpea Miracle
I let the apricots ripen on the counter for a few days and they were near perfect. Right now is the time to get them--at the end of the season. The combo of ingredients and the dressing makes for a superb salad, which we used as the only course for dinner. It is nutritious and delicious!! 




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