Blood Orange and Avocado Salad with Crispy Spicy Chickpeas

I probably eat at least one salad a day, but just because we are shifting into winter doesn’t mean I am going to give up on that habit! This is a colorful, wintery salad that could easily be made fully plant-based by taking out the feta. I love the contrast of the soft avocado, feta, orange, etc. with the crispiness of the chickpeas and the crushed almonds.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Salad

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 tsp onion salt (can also use onion powder & regular salt)

• 1/4 tsp aleppo pepper (can sub crushed red pepper)

• 5 cups greens (I used a mix of arugula and red leaf lettuce)

• 1/2 avocado, thinly sliced

• 2 blood oranges, peel removed & thinly sliced

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped almonds

• Sprinkle of feta

Balsamic Mustard Dressing

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp honey

• 1/4 tsp oregano

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Pat chickpeas dry, and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, onion salt, and aleppo pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes until chickpeas are golden and crispy.

2. Add greens to a large bowl. Mix together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until evenly combined. Add 3/4 of the dressing to the greens in the bowl, and toss until evenly coated. Divide the greens into 2 separate serving bowls.

3. Once the chickpeas have cooled slightly, add them to each bowl. Top with sliced avocado, blood orange, and red onion. Drizzle on the remaining dressing, and top with feta and almonds.