Chickpea Salad with Date and Tamarind Dressing

Nik Sharma's new cookbook The Flavor Equation has a lot going for it. Bold flavors and many of the dishes are easy to put together if you have most if not all the ingredients on hand. THis salad is no exception. I served it on Easter with ham and cabbage. For the dressing ¼ cup date syrup 1 tbsp tamarind paste 1 tbsp fresh lime juice 1 tsp ground ginger sea salt, to taste For the chickpea salad 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 cucumber, diced 1 shallot, minced 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp fresh dill leaves, minced 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes ½ tsp amchur powder ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper sea salt, to taste In a medium bowl, whisk together the date syrup, tamarind paste, lime juice, and ginger. Season to taste with salt. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For the chickpea salad In a large bowl, toss together the chickpeas, cucumber, shallot, cherry tomatoes, dill, mint, olive oil, pepper flakes, amchur, and black pepper. Toss with 2 tbsp of the dressing, then season to taste with salt. Add more dressing as desired.