Carrot & Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing ♥

Today's unusual refrigerator salad: Familiar ingredients in an unfamiliar combination, just carrots, chickpeas and other vegetables, lightly dressed in a dressing made with tahini, fresh lemon juice and white wine vinegar.

A Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Great for Meal Prep, Keeps for Days. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free.

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Battling the "Banana Bread Problem"

Okay, shall we tackle this problem together? The what problem, you ask? What's the problem with banana bread anyway?

Here's the problem. You know how when you have ripe bananas on the counter and the only idea that comes to mind is banana bread? Exactly how much banana bread can one family eat? But banana bread is all you can think of so, well, there it is! like reflex, another loaf of banana bread comes out of the oven.

If your fridge and pantry are anything like mine, there are dozens of bottles and cans and cartons and containers with the same issue: each one is good for no more than the equivalent of banana bread. Scrutiny is required! Methinks that multiple seasonal recipes/uses are the brand-new price of admission.

Ways to Use Up Tahini

So let's take tahini, which was my target when I mixed the first batch of this easy carrot refrigerator salad last summer. Here's where the tahini recipes in my Recipe Box stood, not bad actually:
HUMMUS of course, around here that means Crazy-Smooth Crazy-Good Hummus but also Baba Ganoush (Middle Eastern Eggplant Spread).
FOR SUMMER Jerusalem Salad, the wonderful summer salad for perfect summer tomatoes.
FOR FALL & WINTER Warm Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing, a vegan supper salad.
EVEN SOMETHING SWEET Armenian Tahini Bread, so interesting!

But what I didn't have was a year-round salad with tahini that would keep in the refrigerator for days, that would be a healthy meal prep salad.

But now? I've addressed the banana bread problem for tahini, thanks to this simple Carrot & Chickpea Salad that's lightly dressed in a tahini and lemon dressing.

It's a hearty salad with great crunch and a lively freshness, one I'm happy to dole out in small portions several days in a row. I think you will be too! Despite the familiar ingredients, the taste is slightly unusual. During summer, I rely on so many acidic vinaigrettes that tahini's creaminess is a nice change of pace.

Just For the Record

For the record, I think I've conquered the banana bread problem for bananas too. Think Banana Floats (less-sweet orange julius-type drinks) and Banana Nutter Muffins (which also tackles the banana bread problem for peanut butter) and Banana Oatmeal Cookies and Spiced Banana Ice Cream and Triple-Banana Oat Pancakes and ... more recipes using banana, including some savory recipes, not just sweet stuff.

Anyone Need Help With a Banana Bread Problem?

FOR VEGETABLES The best website for vegetable recipes, if I may say so myself (cough-cough), is right here at A Veggie Venture. Start with the famous A-Z Alphabet of Vegetables.
FOR OTHER GROCERIES For years now, I've collected recipes by ingredient, so useful! See Recipes by Ingredient at Kitchen Parade, my food column.

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RECIPE for CARROT & CHICKPEA SALAD with TAHINI-LEMON DRESSING

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Makes 7 cups

DRESSING
1 - 2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest 1 lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup (60g) tahini
Hot water to thin a bit, if needed

SALAD
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 pound carrots, peeled and trimmed, then grated
1 large green pepper, diced
1 cup diced cucumber (celery works too, something with crunch)
1 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Additional lemon juice or vinegar, to taste

DRESSING In a large mini food processor, process the garlic and salt until the garlic's is chopped very fine. Add all the remaining Dressing ingredients except the hot water and process until smooth. Depending on the density of your tahini, you may need to add a little hot water (start with a teaspoon at a time) to thin the dressing until it's thin enough to evenly but lightly coat the Salad ingredients.

SALAD In a large bowl, collect all the ingredients except the lemon juice or vinegar. Stir in the Dressing, really getting in there to distribute the Dressing and coat all the Salad ingredients. Taste and then, if the salad tastes a little "blah" or dusky, add a splash or two of additional lemon juice or vinegar until the salad tastes bright and vibrant. Check for salt, too.

MEAL PREP Carrot & Chickpea Salad is a great "refrigerator" salad, you know, the kind that keeps/eats from the fridge for several days, as good the last day as the first.

VARIATIONS I haven't tried this but doesn't coconut milk sound good as a substitute for tahini? A nut butter would work too, almond butter sounds good, maybe even peanut butter. Could you mix the dressing in a larger food processor, then just grate the carrots right onto the dressing? I think so!

RESOURCES Do you have a mini food processor? It's no replacement for a big Cuisinart-style food processor but man-oh-man, it sure gets a workout in my kitchen for small batches of salad dressing, especially. Here's the mini food processor I've had for many years. Just so you know, I personally select the Resources I link to —and if you buy something through these links, Kitchen Parade may earn a small commission. Every bit helps, so thank you! My Disclosure Promise

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
NO MINI FOOD PROCESSOR for the DRESSING? No problem. See this cool garlic trick in my recipe for Green Bean Garden Salad, it works like a charm. After that, just proceed with a whisk.
BUYING TAHINI A new container of tahini always seems to have a thick layer of oil on top, obviously the solids have settled, leaving the oil on top. So when I first open the jar, I pull it all out into the food processor and re-combine the solids and the oil, then return the mixture to the same jar.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Half Cup: 71 Calories; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 114mg Sodium; 10g Carb; 3g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 2 & SmartPoints 2 & Freestyle 1 & myWW green 2 & blue 1 & purple 1 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving 3/4 cup = (3g protein).

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MORE FAVORITE CARROT RECIPES
aka Solving the "Banana Bread Problem" for Carrots LOL

~ Detox Chopped Salad ~
~ Easy-Easy Slow Cooker Honey Carrots ~
~ Maple-Glazed Chicken with Easy Skillet Creamed Carrots & Onions~
~ more carrot recipes ~
~ Seasonal Soups & Salads – March ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Mashed Potatoes & Carrots ~
~ Laura’s Healthy Carrot Soup ~
~ Celebration Salad (Maple-Roasted Carrots with Arugula, Dill, Cranberry Vinaigrette, Pomegranate and Glazed Pecans) ~
~ more recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING:
Late Winter & Early Spring Across the Years

Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Broccoli Rabe with Peppers Cabbage Sprouts Pride of Erin Soup (< this week's St. Patrick's Day favorite!) Wine-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Alsatian Cabbage The Danger of Convenience: Birdseye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables Potato & Poblano Pepper Gratin Farm Pie with Whole Wheat & Lard Crust Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad Parsnip Pear Purée Chayote Soup with a Kick Baked Sweet Potatoes (< hello, meal prep) Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries Spinach Pancakes Crazy-Good Cooked Cabbage

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

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