Last summer, a friend brought an amazing cucumber, chickpea and heirloom tomato salad to a barbecue picnic. I asked for the recipe and she said she never really follows one – she just throws together a few simple ingredients and it makes for this incredible combination. I’ve made it a few times since then and decided to make it again since I had an heirloom tomato or two on hand.
I put it together a few hours before dinnertime to let the flavors marinate a little bit, but my two-year-old son thought the salad looked so tasty that he asked for a helping. And then another one, and another one — and even ate a fourth serving at dinner! It always feels like a huge success when he finds something he likes to eat, especially when it’s healthy since he’s underweight and usually more interested in playing than eating. I thought that for sure after four helpings my son would be tired of the salad the next day, but he ate two more servings and might have eaten more if we hadn’t finished it off!
For dinner, we paired it with a recipe for Lebanese Kibbeh meatballs with tzatziki dip using this recipe from Lone Star Farm Beef. We wrapped it all up in a tortilla, but you could also use pitas or naan bread too.
Heirloom tomatoes are a staple at Wolff’s Apple House — you can always find them in stock during the summer, and we carry tomato plants in over a hundred varieties, many of them heirloom tomato varieties.
Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber & Chickpea & Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- 1 15-oz can chick peas
- 2 medium heirloom or homegrown tomatoes
- 1 cucumber, peeled
- 1/4 of a red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the chick peas.
- Dice the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic and cilantro. Mix together. Juice the lime and stir in to the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side salad or as an accompaniment to Middle Eastern dishes.