Spring Salad with Lemon-Herb Sautéed Chickpeas

Chives are the first herb to make an appearance here in our Northwest Indiana spring. We love their mild oniony flavor on almost any spring salad, and this Spring Salad with Lemon-Herb Sautéed Chickpeas is no exception. 

We first tried roasting the chickpeas in the oven, but we decided to switch to sautéing for two reasons. One, sautéing speeds up the cooking process. (In our family, we often eat sautéed chickpeas as an afternoon snack–yay for the quick saute!) Two, we like the end-result flavor and texture better.  We add lemon thyme leaves right at the end for more fresh spring flavor.

Our dressing was inspired by this recipe from Bon Appetit. Being both creamy (yogurt-based) and bright (fresh lemon juice and more chives!), the dressing provides both comfort and deliciousness atop our super-fresh spring salad mix. Good news–you can get our salad mix, fresh herbs, and radishes for this salad from our farm stand! As always, quality of the ingredients makes all the difference!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spring Salad with Lemon-Herb Sautéed Chickpeas

A refreshing spring mix topped with fresh radishes, sautéed chickpeas, and a creamy dressing.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Salad

Keyword: chives, radishes, spring salad mix

Servings: 6 people

Equipment

• cutting board
• chef's knife
• skillet
• spoon
• mandoline (optional)

Ingredients

• 2 15.4 oz cans chickpeas drained
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 7-8 sprigs lemon thyme leaves removed
• 1 cup yogurt, plain whole milk
• 4 tsbp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup chives, divided minced or snipped
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound salad mix
• 1 small watermelon radish (or 6 salad radishes) thinly sliced with mandoline

Instructions

• For the sautéed chickpeas:
• Drain chickpeas. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Heat canola oil over medium-high heat in 12" skillet. When oil is hot, add chickpeas to the skillet. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp salt over chickpeas. Saute 5-7 minutes, stirring occassionally.
• Once chickpeas begin to brown, add lemon thyme leaves. Stir to coat. Once chickpeas are browned, remove from heat. Set aside.
• For the creamy lemon-herb dressing:
• Combine yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Sriracha, 2 Tbsp chives, 1/2 tsp salt, and freshly ground pepper in a pint or quart size Ball jar. Shake vigorously to combine. Let sit 1 hour to allow flavors to combine.
• For salad assembly for 6 meal-sized salads:
• Fill each plate or salad bowl with 2-3 ounces of salad mix.
• Divide toppings (sautéed chickpeas, radishes, remaining chives) into 6 equal parts. Sprinkle each salad with chickpeas, radishes, and chives.
• Drizzle dressing just before eating. Enjoy!