Black chickpea, fennel and orange salad

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 250 g chickpeas, black, dried
• 1 m.-large onion(s), red
• 80 ml cucumber water
• 1 fennel bulb(s)
• 2 orange(s), for small ones rather 3
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seed oil
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp mustard (preferably sweet poppy seed mustard)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp caraway powder
• 12 walnuts

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 14 hours

simple, vegan

The night before, soak the chickpeas in plenty of cold water (soaking time: 12-24 hours). Finely chop the onion and place it in a sealable jar along with the pickle juice. The onions should be covered with the pickle juice; this will soften them slightly (I use this onion-water combination frequently, so we always keep the pickle juice). The next day, drain the chickpeas’ soaking water, then simmer in unsalted water for 90 minutes over low heat. Season generously with salt and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the chickpeas with cold water. Cut the raw fennel into small pieces, fillet the oranges, reserving the juice separately. Place the fennel, orange segments, and chickpeas in a salad bowl. Mix the onions with the pickle juice, oil, reserved orange juice, mustard, salt, pepper, and caraway seeds to make a sauce. Add to the salad bowl and fold in. Crack the walnuts and roughly chop them so they still have some chunks (I do this in a mortar, but a food processor is probably even better). Sprinkle over the salad and serve. Tips: If you want it to look chic (for a buffet or just for the eye), garnish the salad with extra orange segments and walnut halves. Makes 4-6 servings as a starter or side dish. It also serves 2-3 as a main course; the chickpeas make it very filling and quite nutritious. Making too much is recommended; the salad keeps well in the fridge; it only gets better.