puttanesca chickpea tomato salad? 

We had gotten a couple of big juicy red tomatoes from our local farmers market with the intention of making a tomato salad, but to make a meal out of this idea requires protein and we love chick peas. Which keeps it vegetarian, though not vegan if one opts to add some parmigiano shavings as we did.  When looking for ingredient pairing, the internet is quick to respond. Checking out the possibilities, this puttanesca version from the NYTimes seemed the most interesting, the connection being the tomatoes, capers, olives and garlic found in the classic Italian pasta sauce from Napoli. This recipe paired the tomatoes and chick peas with a bunch of flavorful ingredients, so we went with it, while throwing in an avocado since our fridge had an oversupply of these in nicely ripened condition. The result was delicious and probably even healthy.

We used the following recipe as a rough guide, halving it for just the two of us based on one big tomato and one can of chick peas. The shaved parmigiano option we took was added to the plated servings at the end and could easily be omitted to make this vegan. We polished this off in one sitting. Feel free to improvise. Chopped red onion seems like another popular add-in.

ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes of any size, cut into 1- or 2-bite pieces (we did 1/2 inch rough cubes)

3 c cooked, rinsed chickpeas, white beans or a mix (homemade or from two 15-ounce cans)

1/2 c coarsely chopped parsley leaves and stems

1 1/2 oz Parmesan, coarsely chopped or crumbled (about ⅓ cup)

1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 c kalamata olives, torn in half and pitted (use a knife!)

3 T drained capers (thanks, Domenico, for home grown capperi from Ponza!)

1 T lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 small garlic clove, finely grated (we are habitual garlic pressers)

Kosher salt to taste (we used Vogel Herbamare herbed sea salt)

1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped (our option)

instruction

1. Start by chopping the tomato(es) and put them in an adequately sized bowl. Dump in the chick peas. Split those olives and toss in with the capers (we had to rinse ours first).
2. Chop the parsley and mix it in (we added some chopped fresh mint).
3. Peel and chop the avocado if you decide to add one. Gently mix it in.
4. Stir up the fresh lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and your choice of salt to pour over the salad and mix it up.
5. If you prefer the chopped or crumbled parmigiano route, mix that in.
6. Stash in the fridge for a half hour or so and then serve.

notes

1. NYTimes recipe.
2. Illustrations available.