Cold Soak Chickpea Salad
Dried chickpeas rehydrate in the jar while you walk. Lemon and oil do the rest.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 350 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Cold soak
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated cooked chickpeas | 3/4 cup | cook canned chickpeas dry at home, or buy them freeze-dried |
|---|---|---|
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 2 tbsp | chopped small so they soften |
| Dried bell pepper and cucumber flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tsp | |
| Kalamata olives | 8, pitted | pouched, not jarred |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Lemon juice powder | 1 tsp | |
| Red wine vinegar | 1 tsp | optional, small bottle |
| Garlic powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Dried oregano and parsley | 1 tsp total | |
| Sugar | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt, black pepper, chilli flakes | to taste |
Method
- Dump the dry bag into a screw-top jar and add 350 ml of cold water. It should just cover everything.
- Seal, shake, and stow it upright in your pack. Give it three to four hours.
- Pour off any water still standing. The chickpeas should be soft through, not chalky in the middle.
- Add the oil, the olives, and the vinegar if you carried it. Shake again and eat from the jar.
The original is a fridge salad: canned chickpeas, raw vegetables, feta, and a dressing made fresh. None of that carries. The swap is dehydrated chickpeas and dried vegetables, which rehydrate on the same water they would have been packed in, and a dressing built from powders plus oil added at the end.
Oil goes in last on purpose. Chickpeas coated in fat rehydrate slowly, so water first, then the oil once they are soft. The feta is gone and the honey is replaced with sugar, which keeps this vegan; add powdered cheese back if you would rather have the salt than the tag.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag. Oil, vinegar, and olives ride separately, since the olive pouch leaks brine and the oil leaks everything.
Variations
- A pouch of tuna or a handful of salami turns it into a bigger dinner, but drops the vegan tag.
- Dried couscous stirred in at the two-hour mark stretches it to two servings.
- Powdered feta or shelf-stable parmesan if you want the salty edge the original had.
https://blog.9jakitchen.com/chickpea-salad-easy-healthy-fresh-recipe