Chickpea salad with beet & cucumber (“balila”)

This humble salad couldn’t be any easier & is a staple in my house. All you need is some dry chickpeas and good olive oil. It is a popular Lebanese mezze dish & you can add different toppings to it, like pine nuts, tomatoes, simple herbs. Growing up, my version of “balila” was warm cooked chickpeas with olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and parsley but now, I like to serve mine with some steamed beets & crunchy cucumber too for some extra texture and nutrition. Simple and super delicious!

Ingredients
3 cups boiled chickpeas (soak about 1 cup of dried chickpeas for 3-4 hours and then boil them until they are soft and cooked through, about an hour on the stove/about 10-12 minutes if using a pressure cooker).
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 -2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 small beet, steamed and chopped
1 small cucumber, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more if you like)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Fresh lemon juice, 3 tbsp (or more if you like)
2 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
.
Keep the chickpeas in the hot/warm cooking water until you are ready to make the salad because this salad is best when served warm
Instructions Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a large bowl and gently mash some of the chickpeas using the back of a spoon
Stir in the minced garlic Add all the dry spices (ground cumin, paprika, salt and pepper) and mix well
Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil
Top with the steamed beet and cucumber Sprinkle fresh parley Serve WARM with toasted pita bread