Colorful cold chickpea salad a great way to get legumes on your plate

Other than baked beans with burgers, I have a difficult time incorporating beans (legumes) into my food plan. Yes, beans are excellent in a number of ways: They’re high in vegetable protein, fiber and several B vitamins.

I like bean salad a lot, especially during the summer when I roll out my version of sugar-free, three-bean salad. Soon, very soon, tomatoes and corn on the cob will join with it for a classic summer dinner.

Since I love hummus, I love chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans. I just learned that garbanzo is the Spanish word for chickpeas, so the term’s interchangeable.

Chickpeas have several uses other than hummus, like being ground into chickpea flour. That flour can be used to make pizza crust (and other flatbreads like Indian roti and naan) and gluten-free pasta. There are also gluten-free cookies made with chickpea flour. It’s truly versatile.

Recently, I began making a cold salad using organic chickpeas as the base. Canned beans make my salad less hassle, with easier cleanup than hummus.

The only oil I use for salad dressing is olive oil, and the only olive oil I use is extra-virgin, cold-pressed and organic.

The North American Olive Oil Association recommends buying olive oil with a “Best By” date far out into the future. The oils I use just don’t have a good “Best By” date, but a (hopefully reliable) harvest date as well. That’s important since old oils, even olive oil, can be rancid. Rancid oils are unhealthy to consume and have an off-putting flavor and aroma.

Yes, my olive oil comes at a price. I want the real deal though. Extra virgin means that it is the first pressing, the highest quality, assuming the olives were freshly picked.

Also, it amazed me to learn many brands of Italian olive oil are not what they seem and may not have any olive oil in the bottle. Also, those olive oils could be diluted with other vegetable oils, like canola.

Supposedly, extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oils from California and Australia are the best-tasting and the most reliable.

For my new chickpea salad, I wanted to make a unique dressing. I went with a flavorful California sherry vinegar since I had some in my pantry. Sherry vinegar costs more than cider vinegar, but the flavor boost is worth it. And, just like hummus, I seasoned my dressing with ground cumin.

Finally, I wanted to complement my chickpea salad with shallots (part of the onion family with a light garlic note), sweet red peppers and English cucumbers. English cucumbers are called “seedless” with soft skins, so no need to peel them; just chop them and get all of their nutritional value. I tossed in a carrot, which I cut into matchsticks (julienned), as well as some chopped fresh parsley. Talk about a nutritional powerhouse.

My salad not only looked sensational, but it also tasted terrific. Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

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Chickpea Salad

2 (15.5 ounce) cans organic Garbanzo beans, drained

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, ends trimmed, peeled and finely diced

½ medium sweet red pepper*, small dice

1 medium carrot*, peeled, ends trimmed and cut into matchsticks (julienned)

½ English cucumber*, cut into small dice

½ cup (½-ounce) chopped fresh parsley*

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the vinegar together with the salt, cumin and black pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Add the Garbanzo beans, shallot, red pepper, carrot, cucumber and parsley. Using a large rubber spatula, fold and stir until combined and coated with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Can be served immediately.

For better flavor, cover and refrigerate for one hour or, even better, overnight. Makes 6 cups, serving 12.

*Organic preferred

Nutrition values per serving: 126 calories (41% from fat), 5.7 g fat (0.6 g saturated fat), 14.6 g carbohydrates (11.8 net carbs), 3.2 g sugars, 2.8 g fiber, 4.5 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 368 mg sodium.

— Don Mauer