Roasted Garbanzo and Vegetable Salad

Sorry readers (I think there are a few of you out there...) for the delay in blogging! I unfortunately have been out of commission since Sunday, injuring my lower back for the second time this year. Sunday through Tuesday were comprised of sleeping, self-medicating, and watching all of season 7 of How I Met Your Mother. After not cooking all week, I was itching to get back into the kitchen. 

Since I'm not going to be able to work out for the next few weeks as I recuperate, I'm trying to be even more mindful of what I'm eating (even though Matt and I did share a slice of Artichoke pizza and I had a soft serve ice cream cone last night) so I'll start today!

I had a bunch of veggies and herbs in my fridge that I needed to use before they go to waste, so this recipe for roasted garbanzo and vegetable salad only required three ingredients from the grocery store! The garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas), red onion, red pepper and garlic were so aromatic as they were roasting in the oven. 

After they finished roasting, I added the dressing (which required me borrowing olive oil from my neighbor because today of all days, I run out without a back-up bottle in the pantry) and let the flavors meld together for 15 to 20 minutes. I couldn't pull myself away from the nerve-wracking Rangers - Hurricanes hockey game, especially since it ended with an awesome win and playoff spot for the Rangers!

Finally, I could tear myself away from the game and tossed the feta cheese and olives into the mix. I really don't think you can go wrong with any recipe that includes olives and feta. I think I'd feel comfortable adding them to my list of top ten favorite ingredients. Since I love olives of all shapes and size, I went for a mix of pitted olives instead of using canned black olives. My favorite grocery store, Fairway, has a fantastic olive bar with so many options, so I always go with fresh olives over canned.

I added the final touch - strips of basil - to the mixture and voila, dinner is served! All of the ingredients really balance each other - great texture from the chickpeas, saltiness from the olives and feta, a sweet note from the roasted red onions, and a nice fresh kick from the basil.

I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow, although I'm going to eat light because Matt and I have a date night at Dish West NYC, where we get to sample unlimited tastings from 40 restaurants, breweries, wineries, etc. More details to come once I recover from stuffing myself silly!