Maggie's Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

I talked about vegan potluck before and how much I love it. We haven't had our regular potluck since February and I miss the company, camaraderie, and cooking of our vegan potluck crew so much! As I kept thinking about our monthly gatherings, I'd remember a delicious dish from one month, a different dish from another month, and so on. But one dish kept popping up in my head. At the very first potluck she came to - years ago!, our friend Alissa brought a chickpea "tuna" salad. Everyone was amazed. As in, there was outright clamor for the recipe. Alissa gladly shared. 

About a month ago, as the temperatures kept rising, I wanted to make this chickpea tuna salad again but could not find the recipe. Alissa couldn't either! But she remembered better than I did. With her list of ingredients + rough amounts and my tinkering around, what emerged was this amazing, healthy, and summer-temp worthy "tuna" salad. 

Maggie's Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

Ingredients - Cashew Cream

1 c. raw cashews

1/2 c. water

2 T. lemon juice

2 T. neutral-tasting oil

1/2 tsp. salt

Ingredients - Salad

1, 15 oz. can chickpeas

1/4 c. shallot, diced

1/4 c. celery, diced

1 tsp. pepper relish (or other relish of choice)

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp. dill 

2/3 c. cashew cream, or to taste

Directions

1. Using a high powered blender, combine the ingredients for the cashew cream. Blend well, until cream is very smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides. This makes about 1 1/3 cup, enough for two recipes  (see Helpful Hints). 

2. Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then put them in a bowl at least double volume of them (for stirring). Use a potato masher, pastry cutter, fork, or something else to smash them so that no whole chickpeas remain. 

3. Add all other ingredients, stirring well to combine. 

4. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Helpful Hints

• While I suggest waiting at least two hours to eat, you can eat this right away, it just won't be cold. It can also be kept for at least a few days in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, just stir before serving as the top dries out a bit. The flavors will meld some over time, which I love. 
• The cashew cream in this recipe is delicious and freezes very well! I use half of it here, then freeze the other half. When I'm ready for a new batch of this salad, I pull the frozen cashew cream out of the freezer the night before to let it thaw in the fridge. It saves me a step and is just as good as the first time around. 
• If you do not have a high-powered blender, you will need to soak the cashews overnight before making the cashew cream. 
• This dish is gluten-free and soy-free, which means it's great for a wide variety of folks. We eat it on Ritz crackers, whole wheat toast, or even on lettuce. It could be a great appetizer on some bagel crisps or endive. 

The post "Maggie's Chickpea 'Tuna' Salad" first appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.