Marcella Hazan

Raw Boston Lettuce Salad with Warm Chickpeas

Insalata Cotta e Cruda di Ceci e Capuccina

Preparation info

  • For

    4

    persons

    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in

top 1000Marcella Cucina

Marcella Cucina

By Marcella Hazan

Published 1997

  • About

Ingredients

  • 1 head of Boston lettuce
  • 1 cup drained canned chickpeas or ⅓ cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • Black pepper ground fresh

Method

  1. Detach the leaves of the lettuce from their head, discarding any blemished ones. Wash them in cold water, shake thoroughly, and dry in a cloth towel or in a salad spinner. Lay a few leaves one on top of the other and cut into thin longitudinal strips, about ¼ inch wide.

If Using Drained Canned Chickpeas

  1. Squeeze off the skin from every pea, put the chickpeas in a saucepan with enough water to cover, and warm them up at a gentle simmer for 2 minutes.

If Using Cooked Dried Chickpeas

  1. Drain them, reserving the water in which you have boiled them. Squeeze off the skin from every pea, put the chickpeas in a saucepan with enough of the reserved water to cover, and warm them up at a gentle simmer for 2 minutes.
  2. Retrieve about ¼ cup of the warm chickpeas, using a slotted spoon, and put them in a salad bowl. Mash them to a pulp with the back of a spoon, then trickle in the olive oil, beating it in with a fork. Add the salt, vinegar, and black pepper, continuing to beat with the fork to incorporate the condiments smoothly.
  3. Drain the remaining chickpeas and add them whole to the bowl together with the shredded lettuce. Toss thoroughly and serve at once.