Chickpea salad

Can I just say that I love chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)?  They are great in hummus, in soups, and in a cold chickpea salad.  Now, I need to go on record to say that I hate macaroni salads, chicken salads, and 3/4 of potato salads.  I'm not sure why exactly but something about them just grosses me out.  Maybe it's the ice cold mayonnaise mixed with cold veggies. Chickpea salad, however, is delicious. And mayo free.

I found several recipes online, and finally decided upon this one, but then changed it up anyway. I'm wacky like that.

Ingredients

2 15-oz cans of chickpeas (usually found with the other beans but my local grocery had them with the canned vegetables...no idea why)

2 cups diced English cucumber (the English kind are usually wrapped in plastic wrap and have less seeds. If you can't find it, just use a regular cucumber and scoop out some of the seeds before chopping)

1 cup diced tomatoes, seeded (seeded means squeezing out all the juice and seeds)

1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely chopped

3/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced

2-3 tablespoons minced basil (I no longer have fresh, as my plant died from the frost. So I had to use dried basil. I used about 2 teaspoons)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons rice vinegar

4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and drain chickpeas. In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber, tomato, red bell pepper, red onion, and herbs. Carefully stir in the chickpeas.

In a small bowl, mash together the garlic and salt. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste with pepper. Toss the dressing into the chickpeas and vegetables. Let it sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator (mine sat overnight). Give it one final toss before serving.