Tomato and Garbanzo Salad

It's been so hot in Salt Lake that I haven't felt much like cooking, but a girl has to eat, so yesterday I started thinking about some things that would be tasty but didn't need to cooked. I saw a recipe in Sunset Magazine that combined tomatoes and garbanzo beans, I and adapted the recipe a little into this salad, which I absolutely loved. And since beans are high in anti-oxidants, and tomatoes are one of The World's Healthiest Foods, this dish must be perfect for ARF/5-A-Day, the food blog event where Cate at Sweetnicks tries to get us to eat more fruits, vegetables, and anti-oxidant rich foods. I even threw in one of those lovely yellow peppers out of my garden to up the ARF's a bit. I'm trying Cate, really I am.

Three of the changes I made to this recipe made a lot of difference in the flavor quotient. First, I drained the garbanzo beans, and then marinated them in balsamic vinegar while I prepped the other ingredients. Second, I put a lot of fresh parsley, and next time I might increase the parsley even more. (I think chopped fresh basil would be divine in this too, if you wanted to substitute it for the parsley.) Third, I used a combination of balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice for the dressing, which made the flavor a bit more complex.

Tomato and Garbanzo Salad
(Adapted from Sunset Magazine, four servings)

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained well
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced sweet onion or red onion
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup (or more) finely chopped parsley
salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T fresh lemon juice

Put garbanzo beans in colander and rinse well, until all foam is gone. Pick over beans and remove any skins, then let drain about 5 minutes (or pat dry with a paper towel if you're short on time). Put beans in plastic container with snap-on lid, add 2 T balsamic vinegar and turn over several times so all beans are coated with vinegar. Let marinate while you prepare other ingredients.

Cut tomatoes in 1 inch pieces and put in colander. Sprinkle with salt, toss, and let drain. Dice onions in 1/4 inch pieces and bell pepper in 1/2 inch pieces. Chop parsley with chef's knife or mini-chopper. Put bell pepper, onion, drained tomatoes, and garbanzos with vinegar into large bowl (not the bowl you will serve the salad in). Drizzle over the olive oil, add lemon juice, and combine ingredients gently. Taste to see if you want to add more balsamic vinegar. Gently mix in parsley, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, put in serving bowl, and serve immediately.

I used Rosemary Salt from Eatwell Farms in this, which was fantastic. The Salt was one of the things that I got at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market when I was visiting San Francisco recently. If you live in that area, I strongly recommend the rosemary salt, which tastes particularly fabulous on fresh tomatoes. I also got lavender salt which I haven't tried yet.

This salad would be a perfect summer lunch for any phase of the South Beach Diet. If you want to use it for a side dish, it would taste great with Very Greek Grilled Chicken, Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar, or Grilled Halibut with Basil Vinaigrette.

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