It is finally tomato season! I have been getting ripe tomatoes out of the garden for about a month, but now is the time that the plants are just loaded with plentiful juicy fruits. One of my favorite ways to use these fresh tomatoes is in this chickpea panzanella with artichokes.
Panzanella is a rustic Italian-style salad that uses stale bread and tomato, and may add cheese and other vegetables. I added chickpeas for a protein boost, and artichokes because they pair well with the tomatoes and are a great pantry staple.
I flavored the chickpeas by marinading them in the brine from the jar of marinaded artichokes. It is a simple, fast and effective way to make sure the chickpeas are not bland.
I also added feta to this salad. It is one of my favorite cheeses. It’s saltiness compliments and boosts all the other flavors. You can use any cheese that you like, fresh mozzarella is the most common in panzanella, but goat cheese would be delicious as well.
Tips and Tricks for the Chickpea Panzanella with Artichokes recipe:
- Using the artichoke brine to marinade the chickpeas is an easy way to amp up the flavor of the chickpeas.
- I like to cut my artichoke hearts into eighths, cutting them in half the long way, instead of leaving them as quarters. The smaller pieces are easier to eat and keeping the end intact holds the artichoke together nicely vs cutting them in half the short way.
- You can use any tomato. Slice small cherry tomatoes in half, and wedge any larger tomatoes into 1 inch pieces. A combination of tomato types is also really great.
- Use a quality bread that you know and like. The simplicity of the salad will make a poor quality bread really obvious.
- 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 8 oz marinated artichoke hearts, plus the brine
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 5 oz quality crusty bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used homemade sourdough), about 3 cups
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 cups mixed tomatoes, cherry tomatoes halved, larger tomatoes cut into wedges, about 12 oz
- ½ cup sliced cucumber
- ¼ cup torn basil leaves
- 2 oz crumbled feta
- ¡Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 3 TBS each: red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp each: salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- Combine the chickpeas, marinated artichoke hearts with their brine, and a minced garlic clove in a bowl, tossing to combine. Let this rest while you prep the rest of the salad.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Toss the bread with the olive oil and an pinch of salt. Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes. When done they should be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the red wine vinaigrette.
- Drain the chickpea and artichoke mixture.
- Divide the drained chickpea mixture, toasted bread, tomatoes, cucumber, basil and feta among three bowls. Drizzle with vinaigrette just before serving.
