Salads Beyond the greens!

Smoky Roasted Chickpeas

I love crispy green salads, and It's so easy to prepare a basic salad with loads of toppings and a simple sauce. But sometimes I want something different. Like mixing the cold salad with something warm. That's why I love the Caesar salad with Smoky Chickpeas. I learned this recipe initially form Kris Carr; she is always sharing amazing recipes. But over the years, I sometimes just prepare the sauce to put in different salads or make just the chickpeas to add in various dishes. I have friends that say it's the perfect snack. I generally cook my own chickpeas to use in my recipes, but you can use canned ones. Actually, I usually have a few cans to emergencies if I don't have the cooked ones. To facilitate my life, I cook a kilo and then freeze what I'm not using. It's just my preference.

For the salad, you will need:

• 2 tbsp the raw shelled pumpkin seeds

• romaine lettuce (chopped)

• 2 carrots (chopped)

For the smoky chickpeas:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup raw cashew, soaked for 4 hours, rinsed and drained

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp tamari

• 2 tbsp olive oil,

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast,

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 3/4 cup water

To make the dressing combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until it's smooth a set-aside.

Place in a pan the olive oil with the spices and then put the chickpeas and sauté the chickpeas for 3 to 4 min till you see the chickpeas are covered by the spices.

Assemble the salad in a bowl with all ingredients chopped and topped with the pumpkin seeds, top with dressing mixing it with the salad and serve the chickpeas on top.

Tip: If you are not eating right away, don't mix the dressing and the chickpeas. It will wilt the leaves.