Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Have your kids gone back to school yet? We're getting dangerously close here (woohoo!) and I am already thinking about new healthy ideas to fill my son's lunchbox, and mine!

This vegetarian alternative to tuna and chicken salad is so easy to make, and it's delicious! I have a feeling it's going to be on our weekly rotation.

Makes 4 medium sandwiches

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed = 1 boite de 425 g de pois chiches, égouttés et rinsés
• ¼ cup light mayonnaise or vegenaise = 4 cuillères à soupe de mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard = 2 cuillères à café de moutarde forte
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice = 1 cuillère à café de jus de citron
• 1 rib of celery, roughly chopped = 1 branche de céleri, coupé en morceaux
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped = 1 carotte, épluchée et coupée en morceaux
• Pinch cayenne pepper = une pincée de poivre de Cayenne
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste = du poivre noir fraichement moulu
• Whole grain bread = des tranches de pain aux céréales complètes
• Lettuce leaves = des feuilles de laitue
• Tomato slices = des tranches de tomate

Place chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to roughly chop. Add mayo, mustard, lemon juice, celery and carrots and pulse a few times to incorporate. Season with cayenne and black peppers.

 

Assemble sandwiches by layer bread, lettuce, tomato and chickpea mixture. Top with another slice of bread, or serve open-faced. Enjoy!

 

Note: If you don't have a food processor, you can simply mash the chickpeas and finely chopped the carrot and celery, before mixing all the salad ingredients together.

Lentil Salad in Pita Pocket

In the summer, our mornings are spent at the pool for swim practice so there isn't a lot of time to plan or make lunch. I steam some green Puy lentils the night before and this pita sandwich comes together in a few minutes. I use whatever I have in the fridge or pantry: tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper (fresh or roasted), shredded carrots, marinated artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, feta, mozzarella, kalamata olives, chopped baby spinach or arugula. I love lots of colors! It's always delicious and filling!

Serves 2

• 2 whole wheat pita pockets (I use Trader Joe's Pocketful of Fiber Pita Bread), each cut in half = 2 pains pita, coupés en deux
• ¾ to 1 cup cooked lentils, at room temperature = 150 à 200 g de lentilles cuites, à température ambiante
• 1 tomato, chopped = 1 tomate, coupée en morceaux
• 1 mini cucumber, chopped = 1 mini-concombre, coupé en morceaux
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped = 1 petit poivron jaune, coupé en morceaux
• 8 mini mozzarella balls, chopped= 8 mini-balles de mozzarella, coupées en morceaux
• 1 teaspoon olive oil = 1 cuillère à café d'huile d'olive
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar = 1 cuillère à soupe de vinaigre balsamique
• salt & pepper = sel & poivre

Mix the lentils, chopped veggies and mozzarella in a medium bowl, add oil, vinegar and seasonings and toss gently.

Stuff each pocket half with lentil salad and serve right away. Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Finger Sandwiches

These open-faced finger salmon sandwiches were my other contribution to my Cooking Club's Afternoon Tea themed meeting. The horseradish adds a nice bite to the cream cheese and you can use either chive or dill as both complement smoked salmon really well. Get the best smoked salmon you can find or afford. I love Trader Joe's Nova Smoked Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.

No occasion for finger sandwiches? Chop the smoked salmon and mix it into the cream cheese with all the other ingredients. Use the spread on a whole wheat bagel. Delish!

Makes 15 to 20 mini sandwiches (based on a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis)

• 6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature = 170 g de cream cheese ou équivalent
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or dill = 2 cuillères à soupe de ciboulette ou aneth fraiche, grossièrement hâchée
• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish = 2 cuillères à café de raifort préparé
• 1 tablespoon capers, chopped = 1 cuillères à soupe de câpres, hâchés
• zest of 1 lemon + 1 teaspoon lemon juice = zeste d'un citron + 1 cuillère à café du jus
• Salt & pepper, to taste = sel et poivre
• 5 or 6 slices pumpernickel bread = 5 ou 6 tranches de pain de seigle
• 8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon = 225 g de saumon fumé, en fines tranches
• Additional fresh chives or dill, for garnish = quelques brins de ciboulette ou aneth pour décorer

 

In a bowl, mix cream cheese, chopped chives (or dill), horseradish, pepper, salt, capers and lemon zest and juice until smooth.

 

Spread about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture over each slice of bread. Top with smoked salmon. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 3 or 4 circles out of each slice of bread. Place a small dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top and garnish with chive or dill. Enjoy!

Roasted Summer Veggie & Goat Cheese Panini

My summer lunches are pretty much salads, panini and more salads, and more panini! Easy peasy... and delicious!

There isn't much of a recipe here. Just get a bunch of your favorite summer vegetables. Bonus point if they come from your own backyard! Okay, farmers markets are good too. Zucchini, summer squash, red/orange/yellow bell peppers, eggplant, whatever you have on hand. Dice them up, spray them with olive oil, and dried herbs (thyme, rosemary or oregano), roast them in a 450°F/230°C oven for 30 minutes. You can do this ahead of time. I always make a huge batch (at night, when it's cooler outside!) and store leftovers in the fridge.

When ready for lunch, sprinkle or spread goat cheese  (feta works too) on a slice of bread, add a nice portion of roasted veggies, season with freshly ground pepper and top with another slice of bread. Brush both sides of the sandwich with a little olive oil. Grill in a panini press (or use a grilling pan) until the bread is golden brown and the cheese melts. Transfer to a plate and serve right away. Enjoy!

Other panini ideas:
- Giada's Prosciutto, Spinach and Fontina Panini
- Giada's Tuna and Artichoke Panini
- Closet Cooking's Fig and Brie Panini
- Pioneer Woman's Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini
- WholeFoods' Cuban-Style Panini