Tomato & Chickpea Salad

Many patrons missed browsing our magazine and newspaper reading area during the height of the pandemic. For me, there's nothing more enjoyable than looking over colorful magazine covers and flipping through pages of recipes, so I was excited when Whitehall Public Library recently began a subscription to Cook's Country magazine. Cook's Country is part of PBS' America's Test Kitchen, which also broadcasts the Cook's Country cooking show.

For my first recipe from the magazine, I chose a simple tomato and chickpea salad. It comes from the August/September 2021 issue. It's based on the flavors of Spanish romesco sauce, which is a mix of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, almonds and olive oil. To make romesco sauce, the ingredients are pounded or blended together, explains Cook's Country. For this salad, however, the ingredients are mixed together and served as a colorful side dish. The magazine suggests serving it with grilled or roasted meats; we enjoyed it with grilled steak for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 (15-ounce) can of chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped (I substituted sliced almonds, which I toasted on the stovetop.)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I substituted red wine vinegar.)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve using a slotted spoon.

Other recipes in the August/September issue include Bourbon Chicken, Fresh Corn Muffins, and Chicken Parmesan Meatballs.

 
Cook's Country is available upon request from Whitehall Public Library by calling 412-882-6622 or by clicking here. It's also available to borrow as an e-magazine.