‘Chickpea of the Sea’ is a vegan smashed chickpea ‘tuna’ style salad. I haven’t made it for years, but I’m on the search for things that I can prep and have in the fridge for sandwich and toast toppings. I’d forgotten how surprisingly delicious chickpea ‘tuna’ salad was, I had it for lunch over the course of 4 days and it was a revelation each day – Plain on toasted bread, on a closed sandwich with lettuce and an extra smear of mayo and dill pickles, on toast smeared with goat’s cheese and topped with sliced beetroot and best of all on toast topped with slices of boiled eggs.
I don’t know whether it’s the capers, the dill or the celery but it really does feel like you’re eating a tuna salad sandwich. On the second day I also add some shredded Gim ( Korean salted roasted seaweed snack) which really gave it an added taste of the sea. Other optional add ins are finely chopped cornichons, cucumber, avocado or sliced olives.
If I had to choose though the open sandwich with addition of shredded gim and the sliced eggs was my absolute favorite.
Chickpea of the Sea – Vegan ‘Tuna’ Salad
Serves 3-4
- 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1-2 stalks of celery, finely diced
- 1-2 tablespoons of red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar or juice of half a lemon
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of dill, finely chopped
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of capers, rinsed
- 5 grams of gim (Korean roasted salted seaweed snack) chopped in small strips (optional)
- Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
- Mash chickpeas in a food processor or with a potato masher until chickpeas are roughly chopped and still a bit chunky.
- Add celery, red onion, dill, capers and gim if using mix through the mashed chickpeas.
- Whisk together mayonnaise and rice vinegar. Mix through chickpeas thoroughly. Season with salt and black pepper. Allow to rest for 10 to 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld before serving.
- Serve as you would tuna salad in a sandwich or on top of crackers.
The Back Yard Lemon Tree 
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