Chickpea salad with nut pesto by Glitzerreni

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 can chickpeas, approx. 400 g
• 1 m.-large eggplant(s)
• 100 g spinach or lamb’s lettuce
• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 200 g feta cheese
• 2 pinches of sea salt
• 1 pinch(s) of pepper
• 150 g walnuts or almonds
• 100 g dried tomatoes
• 100 g Parmesan
• 1 lemon(s), untreated
• 100 ml oil or walnut oil
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

vegetarian

Drain the chickpeas. Wash the eggplant, remove the stalk, and cut into large cubes. Season with salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Wash the spinach or lamb’s lettuce and spin dry. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Drain the feta cheese, if desired, and cut into large cubes. Fry the eggplant cubes in a hot grill pan without adding oil for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Mix the chickpeas, spinach, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and eggplant and arrange on four plates. For the pesto, put the walnuts or almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese in a food processor or blender. Wash the lemon, halve it, and squeeze it over the ingredients. Purée everything finely, slowly adding the oil or walnut oil. Season to taste with cumin powder and cayenne pepper. Spread the pesto in a zigzag pattern over the salad and season with sea salt and pepper.