Summer Chickpea Salad

Sorry for the terrible picture--this was all that was left when I remembered to take one!

I love this salad.  It's so different from an average salad (read: no lettuce!), and is light and flavorful and perfect for a summer day.  Or a day where you're wishing it felt like summer!  The addition of fresh herbs is not completely mandatory, but it really does make a difference in the flavor, and appearance, of the salad, so I highly recommend using the real (fresh) thing. 

Summer Chickpea Salad
Recipe by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients:
1 small red onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
1 jalapeno or other chili pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
1 lemon, juiced
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 14-oz jar of chickpeas, drained
1 T fresh mint, chopped
2 T fresh basil, finely ripped or cut
7 oz feta or goat cheese (chevre)

In a large bowl combine red onion, jalapeno, and tomatoes.  Measure the lemon juice, then add it to the bowl. Add three times as much olive oil as you had lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add in most of the chickpeas, reserving about 10 percent.  Mash up the 10 percent, then add them to the bowl as well.  Stir everything together, and you can let it sit in the bowl at room temperature for awhile if you'd like. 

Just before serving, add in the mint and basil, then top with the cheese.  Serve at room temperature.

Makes 6 side dish servings.