Chickpea Tarragon Salad Sandwiches

 From Joe Yonan's book Cool Beans

I usually make chickpea salad just as I would tuna salad - mayo, lemon juice, celery, onion and sometimes some Italian dressing type mix.  This is a riff on that.  It's great to have around for lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

3.5 cups cooked or canned no-salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 celery stalk diced

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup dried cherries

2 Tbsp tarragon leaves, chopped

1/4 cup chickpea aioli (see recipe) or vegan or traditional mayo

2 Tbsp vegan or dairy yogurt

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

6 buns or 12 slices bread, or serve over greens

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas  with a fork or potato masher, leaving some of them whole if desired.  

Add the celery, walnuts, cherries and tarragon and toss to combine.  

Gently fold in the aioli, yogurt, lemon, salt and pepper.  Add more salt and pepper as desired.

Serve on a sandwich or salad.

Chickpea Aioli

 From Joe Yonan's book: Cool Beans

This recipe uses chickpeas and aquafaba to avoid using mayo.  A small bullet-type blender works well because of the small volume of dressing.  An alternative is an immersion blender.

This was good in and on chickpea salad, but can also be used on any kind of sandwich.

INGREDIENTS (for about 1 cup):

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup aquafaba

2 Tbsp cooked or canned no-salt added chickpeas

3/4 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste

3/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral vegetable oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut open the garlic and remove any green sprout inside - this will keep the garlic from being too bitter when eaten raw. (This was a new tip for me!)

In a mini food processor, puree the garlic, aquafaba, chickpeas, mustard and salt until smooth

Drizzle in the oil (with the processor running, if possible), starting slowly and then feeling free to speed up once it starts thickening.

When the aioli is thick, add the lemon juice and whir a few seconds, just to combine.  Taste and add more salt and lemon juice if needed.

Keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Rice - or Farro - bowl with mixed vegetables

This is from a Forks Over Knives cooking course.  The goal was to practice chopping veggies - for a grade! , but the bonus was making this dish.  I used farro instead of brown rice, and added mint, oregano and basil from the garden.  So good!  The lemon was so refreshing and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice 
• 1 med zucchini, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 
• 1 med cucumber, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 
• 2 med tomatoes, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions, white and light green parts 
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 
• 3 to 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
• sea salt, to taste 

Description

Rinse the rice and place it in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 45 minutes. (Farro cooks in closer to 10 minutes).  Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Transfer the rice to a large bowl and let it cool for a few minutes until no longer steaming. Add the zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, most of the lemon juice, pepper, and salt to taste. Mix well. Taste and add more lemon juice or salt if desired. Cover and chill or let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the juices from the vegetables and the lemon juice to mix with the rice so that all the flavors marry. 

Serve cold or at room temperature. Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. 

Eggless Salad Sandwich

Adapted from Neal Barnard and Jennifer Reilly, The Cancer Survivor's Guide - Foods that help you fight back!

This takes about 2 minutes to make, and makes for a delicious lunch.  Add anything to the sandwich that you normally would for a tuna or egg salad sandwich.  The recipe calls for vegan mayo.  Because of the bad reputation of vegan cheeses, many people avoid the vegan mayo as well.  I agree about disliking vegan cheeses.  The only one I like is a Trader Joe's option with mixed 'mozzarella and cheddar.'  It tastes good and melts like real cheese.

However, all the mayo brands I have tried are soy-based and have been good.  The one I'm using currently is Trader Joe's, but several others from other stores have been perfectly fine as well.

Ingredients:
1 pound firm, reduced fat silken tofu
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp pickle relish  (I didn't have this, so I used capers)
2 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin or coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Whole grain bread
Lettuce and tomato

Directions:
1) Squeeze water out of the tofu between paper towels.  You don't need to be too gentle, since you'll be mashing it up anyway.  Then mash the tofu with a fork, leaving some chunks if possible.

2) Stir in the scallion, relish, mayo, mustard, salt and spices.

3) Serve on toast and top with lettuce and tomato.