Tomato, Chickpea, and Cucumber Yogurt Salad

This spectacular salad from Josh McFadden's book Six Seasons is really three salads in one.  The tomatoes are sprinkled with spices and layered on the bottom.  Next comes a tiny chopped cucumber salad with yogurt--this is a great way to use up cucumbers that remained hidden in the garden and are enormous.  The final salad is chickpeas and red onions in a vinaigrette.  So good!

For the yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 or 2 small cucumbers
• kosher salt
• 1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about half a lemon
• 1 clove garlic minced
• chopped herbs (mint is classic)

For the salad:

• 1 teaspoon sumac (see notes above)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and black pepper
• 3 to 4 large tomatoes and some small ones too

• 1/2 red onion diced or sliced
• 1 cup chickpeas
  
• 1 handful of arugula (optional)
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• whole herb leaves (optional)

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1. Grate the cucumber coarsely on a box grater. In a medium bowl, stir the cucumber into the yogurt, along with the garlic and the lemon. Season with salt, starting with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, adding more by the 1/4 teaspoon to taste. Add more lemon to taste as well — this sauce should taste nicely seasoned. Spread this yogurt sauce onto a large platter or do the tomatoes first and the sauce on top (this is what I prefer).
2. In a small bowl, stir together the sumac, coriander, cumin, and dried chile flakes.
3. Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the yogurt sauce in an even layer. Season all over with the spice rub. Season generously with sea salt (kosher salt is fine, too). Season with freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
4. In a large bowl, toss the onion and chickpeas with a good pinch of flaky sea salt, pepper to taste, and the olive oil and vinegar. Taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Add the arugula if using (can go without). Spread this salad atop the tomatoes and the yogurt sauce.