Mediterranean Salad + Herby Tahini Dressing

One of the greatest pleasures of my travels around Mediterranean countries like Spain, Monaco, Malta, Israel, Turkey, Italy, and Morocco was the way that every meal started with a refreshing, crisp flavor packed salad.

Recently, it has been a practice that I’ve been trying to incorporate more into my meals by preparing a beautiful salad as a side or main dish. This recipe is inspired by the rich, hearty, and smoky flavors found in Mediterranean cooking–and seriously, I’ve made this salad 5 times in the last week already! I hope that it is a testament to you that salads don’t have to be boring and can be truly satisfying.

Mediterranean Salad + Herby Tahini Dressing

▸ Vegan, Jain, Vegetarian, Gluten-free

Makes: 2-4 servings
Total Time: 10 minutes

Vegan, Jain, Paryushan-friendly, nut free, gluten free

Ingredients:

Herby Tahini Dressing:

1/2 cup tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Water to thin to desired consistency

Paprika Roasted Chickpeas

1 cup of chickpeas (cooked or canned)
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil

Salad Ingredients:

1 head of romaine, rinsed and chopped 
1 large avocado, diced 
2 Persian cucumbers, chopped or sliced 
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced 
Paprika roasted chickpeas (as above)
1/2 cup kalamata olives 
1/2 cup grilled marinated artichokes (I found these packaged at Trader Joes, but you can also grill your own and marinate in olive oil with Italian seasoning) 
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds 
Dukkah (garnish)
Pita chips (garnish, optional)

Assembly:

Over a stove top, roast chickpeas in a pan for 5-7 minutes on medium heat in 1 tbsp olive oil until golden brown. To a bowl, add your paprika. Once chickpeas are done, toss them into the bowl with paprika and coat evenly. Allow chickpeas to cool before adding to salad.

For the dressing, simply whisk together all ingredients, adding splashes of water as needed to achieve desired consistency. This dressing keeps well in the fridge for at least a couple weeks, but I doubt you’ll have much left by that point 😉

To assemble the salad, simply toss all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Top off with the herby tahini dressing and a pinch or two (or three!) of dukkah as a garnish! You could also top off with some crushed pita chips for a little more crunch.

This salad keeps well in the fridge for a day (without dressing), but is best eaten fresh! You could also toss in some couscous if you want to turn it into a meal itself.