Chickpea Salad With Cumin Vinaigrette

Description: No such thing as too many chickpea salads! This was an especially good version I thought, altered a bit with my own and my BF's taste in mind. Extremely easy and no cooking involved, particularly good for lunch at the office or a weekend picnic since it's best at room temperature. If you'd like to make this for a no-cook summer dinner, it's a main meal for two (with a side of green vegetables) or a side dish for four. A Sara Foster recipe from the 4/2007 version of Cottage Living.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons capers, drained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can chickpeas, drained or 1 cup dried garbanzo beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
• 1 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 roasted red pepper, drained and chopped (from a jar)
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
• sea salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup feta cheese

Steps:

1. Stir together first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until well blended.
2. Toss chickpeas and next 4 ingredients in large bowl, and drizzle with vinaigrette.
3. Add sea salt and pepper. Add feta cheese and toss gently. Serve immediately at room temperature or chill until ready to serve.