Smashed Chickpea and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich

Delicious, cold vegetarian sandwiches are hard to come by. Delicious, cold vegan sandwiches are even harder to find.

So many of the sandwiches I found lacked inspiration. The directions went something like this: Slice vegetables. Place on sandwich. Add slices of cheese. Top with hummus/mayonnaise. Eat.

Eh. I think this is the reason I never wanted sandwiches in my lunch box as a kid.

Last weekend we drove up to Portland, Maine, which meant we had about 7 hours in the car both ways. In an attempt to save money, and avoid rest stop food, I brought the sandwiches.

This was one of my favorites. Smashed chickpeas mixed with olives, red onions, lemon juice and zest, and parsley. Some hearty multigrain bread, a heavy smear of garlic hummus and a big slice of roasted red pepper finished the sandwich off.

Not only did it travel well, surviving a few days in our cooler before we ate it, but it was also cheap. Probably less than $2.50 of ingredients went in to the chickpea salad, which easily served four for lunch.

And, the leftovers were delicious on a toasted baguette rubbed with olive oil and garlic.


Smashed Chickpea Salad 
recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who was inspired by 'wichcraft's chopped chickpea sandwich

This chickpea salad is delicious on bread as a sandwich, on lettuce leaves for a lighter lunch, or on toasts rubbed with olive oil and garlic for an appetizer.

Optional: Slather your bread with your favorite hummus. I used Garlic Lovers Hummus, and it was delicious. Top your sandwich with a hearty slice of roasted red pepper.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons olives, thinly sliced and chopped (I used a mix of olives)
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onions
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Zest and juice from half a lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of black pepper
A bit of olive oil (I used a few tablespoons, just enough to get the mixture to stay together)

In a medium bowl, combine everything but the olive oil. Using a potato masher (or your hands), smash the chickpeas until a coarse mixture forms, much coarser than hummus.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and mix until the mixture comes together well.

Refrigerate until needed.