Salads can get boring, and sometimes leave you still feeling hungry. This is one of my favorite salads of all time. The chickpeas make sure I am getting my protein, and the beets give me extra texture without the meat. The feta cheese is great but I’ve made this salad many times without it, before I found a vegan Feta cheese my family enjoyed. The same goes for the olive oil, you can make it without oil if you want to cut oils or simply use less oil. The acidity of the capers and Kalamata olives give you enough flavor to really not need that much dressing, but compliments the balsamic vinegar. So please play around with it to make it your own! This recipe will make about 6 normal cereal bowl sized portions, so you may not want to add the dressing into the mix if you plan to store it for left overs.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Medium sized stocks of Romaine lettuce
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • ½ cup onion, diced
  • 2 Golden beets
  • 1 cup tomatoes, diced
  • 1 -2oz can of non- pareil capers
  • 1 – 10.2oz can of Kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese *optional
  • 1/4 olive oil
  • 5 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

EQUIPMENT

  • Large bowl for salad
  • Medium pot to boil beets
  • Small pot to warm up chickpeas
  • Small bowl to mix dressing

Cooking Directions

  1. First get your beets cooking. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil.
  2. While your water is getting to a boiling point, wash your Golden Beets (skin on is fine, it’s easily removed after boiling)
  3. Once water is at a rapid boil place both beets in the boiling water and allow to boil for roughly 20-30 minutes. You will know the beets are ready when they are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. You may need to occasionally add water to your pot if you are boiling for a longer time.
  4. While beets are boiling prep your salad. Wash your lettuce. (if you are buying a bag with 3 stocks of Romaine lettuce use two, if you are buying from a farmers market and the stock is pretty large one will be enough. Once your lettuce is cleaned chop and place in a large bowl.
  5. Chop 1/2 of a medium sized onion and add it in to your salad bowl.
  6. Chop Kalamata olives and add into your salad bowl.
  7. Chop fresh tomatoes and add into your salad bowl.
  8. Chop feta cheese if you are using Vegalife brand and it comes in a block. (my family loves this brand it is more on the creamy side with a subtle flavor of feta.)
  9. Open and strain 2 oz jar of Cappers and add to your salad.
  10. Strain and rinse can of Chickpeas and heat in a small pot. Once warmed add to your salad mix.
  11. Once beets are tender enough to be pierced with a fork, remove from boiling water and peel off the skin. It will easily come off if you remove it by hand. I like to just cut it off with a knife. Chop the beets and add to your salad.
  12. Make your dressing. Combine 1/4 cup Olive oil and one 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. Give it a stir and add to you level of liking.
  13. Finally give your salad a good mix and enjoy!

Recent Posts