Name: Chickpeas, grilled broccoli and asparagus with popped chilli grapes and bagel croutons
Yield: For 6 as a starter
Ingredients: 1 small handful watercress, mâche (corn salad) or rocket (arugula) leaves; 20 mint leaves, torn; 3 tbsp verjus (or use 2 tbsp cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar plus 1 tbsp water); 85 ml (⅓ cup) Greek-style plain yogurt; 2 bagels, slightly stale (or use 3 slices of bread, cut into 2cm/¾in. squares); 250 g (9 oz.) broccoli (about 1 head); 200 g (7 oz./2 cups) black and green grapes; 2 tbsp + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 tsp baking soda; 1 bay leaf (or use a few fresh thyme, oregano or rosemary sprigs); 175 g (6 oz./¾ cup + 2 tbsp) dried chickpeas; ½ medium-heat red chilli, finely chopped, including the seeds (more or less to taste); 600 g (1 lb. 1 oz.) asparagus (about 300 g/10½ oz. trimmed weight, see method)

Preparation info

For
6
as a starter

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Savour

By Peter Gordon

Published 2016

About

Chickpeas are incredibly easy to cook from dried but you will need to soak them overnight in water and baking soda before cooking them, so if time isn’t on your side you can resort to canned ones. I used broccoli and asparagus in this dish because they were in season when we shot the photograph, but you can also use sweetcorn, pumpkin, carrots, aubergine (eggplant) or other vegetables instead. The bagel croutons add a lovely chewiness and crunch to the salad, so if you’re gluten intolerant,