Warm Salad of Roasted Potatoes, Spiced Chickpeas and Spinach

This is a tasty, warm salad that we enjoyed right after harvesting the first potatoes of the year. It would be lovely any time. It’s warm, hearty and filling.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

for the salad:

• 1 pound potatoes, cut in ½ inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons taco seasonings
• 6 ounces baby leaf spinach, washed and spun dry

for the vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup white balsamic or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1-2 tablespoons or to taste rice or agave syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F or 218°C
2. Wash the potatoes, and cut into ½ inch pieces.
3. Place in a bowl and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over and mix well to cover all the parts of the potatoes.
4. Place the oiled potatoes on ½ a parchment lined baking sheet or in an ovenproof casserole dish.
5. Drain the can of chickpeas, pat the chickpeas dry using a paper towel.
6. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix well.
7. Dust the chickpeas with the taco seasonings and mix well.
8. Place the spicy chickpeas on the other half of the baking sheet or in a 2nd casserole dish and place all in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes or until crispy brown.
9. While the potatoes and chickpeas are roasting, wash the spinach well and spin dry. Remove any big stems.
10. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients well in a carafe to make the dressing.
11. When the potatoes and chickpeas are done, remove from the oven.
12. Place in a large serving bowl or on individual salad plates.
13. Add the spinach which will slightly wilt from the heat of the potatoes and chickpeas.
14. Add the dressing, or make the carafe available at the table for individual use.
15. Enjoy the salad warm.

Notes:

We really enjoyed the salad as presented, it was simple and tasty, however if you want more variety consider the following: You could also dust the potatoes with salt pepper, rosemary before roasting if so desired. If you wish you can add red onion slices. If preferred, you can sauté the spinach before adding to the warm salad. Optionally you could use garam masala as a seasoning instead of the taco seasoning