Smashed Chickpea Salad in Ciabatta Buns
This cold sandwich recipe is perfect for this summer weather. The salad is crunchy, juicy, flavourful and pairs perfectly with fresh, Ciabatta bread. Make it ahead of time to take to a beach or picnic.
Ingredients
- 5 Ciabatta Buns
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 5 Mozzarella cheese slices
- Barbecue Sauce
- Chipotle sauce
- Spinach leaves
Roasting Chickpeas
- 1 can Chickpeas washed and drained
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1/2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
Salad
- 1/2 Red onion finely diced
- 1/2 Tomato finely diced
- 1/2 Cucumber finely diced
- 1/2 cup Spinach finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Cilantro finely chopped
- 1/2 Red bell pepper finely diced
- 1/2 Lime juiced
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Smokey Chipotle Sauce
Instructions
Roasting Chickpeas
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they start crackling, add rinsed chickpeas.
- Add salt, black pepper, red chilli powder and garam masala. Cook on medium-low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn of the flame and keep aside to cool.
- Smash the chickpeas using the back of the fork or a potato masher. Keep it chunky, don't mash them completely!
Salad Prep
- Finely dice all the vegetables (cucumbers, bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, spinach, cilantro) and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add cooled chickpea mixture to the bowl.
- Add salt, black pepper, lime juice, mayonnaise and chipotle sauce. Mix everything together.
- Do a taste test. Add more salt, mayonnaise or chipotle if you would like.
Assembling
- Slice the ciabatta buns in half. Heat some butter in the pan and toast the buns from both sides.
- Spread some chipotle sauce on bottom slice. Add spinach leaves and mozzarella cheese slice. Add a big scoop of the chickpea salad on it.
- Spread some barbecue sauce on the top slice. Lay it on the other one to make a sandwich. Slice from the middle and enjoy your sandwich.