Chickpea & Feta Salad

Serves 4

Half a red onion very finely sliced

1 red bird eye chilli finely chopped

Juice of one lemon

2 tbs olive oil

1 large jar of chickpeas

1 small tin of kidney beans

1 medium beetroot grated

2 large carrots grated 

Handful of mint roughly chopped

Handful of basil torn 

1 pack of feta cheese

1 tbs lin seeds

1 tbs sunflower seeds

In a large bowl mix the onion with the chilli and stir in the lemon juice and olive oil and mix well, adding some salt and pepper. Leave to one side for 20 mins to take the raw taste off the onion.

Heat the chickpeas until lukewarm with a couple tbs water. Once warm take off the heat and mash about 1/4 until a rough paste. 

Stir the chickpeas into the onion and lemon and mix well to make sure the paste takes on the oil and lemon juice. Add the kidney beans, carrot and beetroot and stir together. 

Finally add the herbs and crumble in the feta keeping some larger chunks. Check the seasoning and add more salt and lemon juice if necessary.

Serve and sprinkle on the seeds (if using) on each serving.

Can also add chopped tomatoes and cucumber – but only if not planning to keep left overs as will go too soggy.

Harissa Roast Vegetable & Feta on Chickpea & Spinach

Serves 3

1 large sweet potato

4 medium turnips

1 red onion

1 desert spoon harissa pasta

1 tbs olive oil

1 jar chickpeas

1 chicken or veg stock cube

3 large hand fulls of spinach, washed and shredded washed thoroughly

1 tbs each chopped coriander and mint

Seeds from half a pomegranate 

150g feta cheese

1 small fat free yoghurt

1.5dsp lemon juice

1dsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 210ºC fan

Peel the veg. Cut the onions into wedges (in half and into 6) and the sweet potato and turnip into chunks. Put into a large bowl and mix with the harissa and olive oil. Spread out onto a flat baking tray and cook for 20 mins, remove the onion and retain and flip the veg and cook for another 10 mins.

Mix the stock cube with about 200ml of boiling water. Put the chickpeas in a pan and add the stock and warm through for a few mins on a medium heat. Once warm, mash approx 1/3 of the chickpeas to absorb the water and thicken the mix and stir in the spinach and the retained roasted red onions.

To make the dressing, mix the yoghurt with lemon juice to taste and season. Add the olive oil and stir to combine.

Plate up with the chickpea and spinach mix on the base and drizzle over some dressing. Add the roasted veg and more dressing and finish with crumbling on the feta, and sprinkling over the herbs and pomegranate seeds. 

A few seeds or chopped nut are nice sprinkled on top