Warm Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Feta
Chickpeas and tomatoes roasted until they blister and sweeten, then spooned over barely wilted spinach with crumbled feta and a sharp olive oil dressing. A warm salad that eats like a full meal.
- Total
- 33 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 25
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 220°C. Drain the chickpeas well and pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel so they crisp instead of steam.
~3 min
Drying chickpeas removes surface moisture so they roast crisp and golden instead of steaming soft.
Dry the chickpeas thoroughly before roasting: surface moisture traps steam and keeps them pale and soft instead of crisp at the edges.
-
Cut the tomatoes into 2 cm wedges. Toss them on the baking tray with the chickpeas, 1 tbsp olive oil, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper until everything is coated.
~5 min
-
Roast for 22 minutes, until the chickpeas are golden at the edges and the tomato wedges have collapsed and released their juices. Stir once halfway through.
~22 min
High heat caramelizes the tomatoes' sugars and concentrates their juices, while the chickpeas crisp at the edges.
Roasting Roast at high heat with space between pieces so they brown, not steam. Stir once halfway for even color; pull when edges are golden and tomatoes collapse.
-
While step 3 cooks
While the tray roasts, whisk the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil with 1 tsp water in the small bowl to make a loose dressing.
~2 min
Whisking oil with water creates a temporary emulsion, letting the dressing coat the leaves evenly.
Emulsifying Whisk oil and water vigorously until uniformly cloudy. Add water drop by drop at first to keep the emulsion from breaking.
-
Put the spinach in the large bowl. Tip the hot chickpeas and tomatoes over it, add the dressing and toss for about 30 seconds, just until the leaves wilt slightly but keep their shape.
~2 min
Residual heat from the tray wilts the spinach in seconds, preserving its texture and bright color.
Toss the spinach with the hot tray contents rather than cooking it, the residual heat wilts it in seconds and keeps a little bite.
-
Crumble the feta over the top with the fork and serve straight away while the chickpeas are still warm.
~1 min