Chickpea salad with pancetta

• 1 tin of organic chickpeas
• cayenne pepper
• 1 large red pepper, cored and roughly diced
• a few shitake or chestnut mushrooms, roughly sliced
• a little oil, for frying
• 100g pancetta or streaky bacon
• cos or romaine lettuce
• 2-3 spring onions, sliced thinly
• a few radishes or a daikon or mooli, sliced thinly
• 25g Parmesan, shaved

METHOD

1. Chop the lettuce leaves and place in a serving bowl, add the spring onions and the daikon or mooli and stir together.

2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Leave them on a colander to drain excess liquid. Heat up a dry pan or skillet and fry the chickpeas with a little cayenne pepper seasoning, until they take on a bit of colour. Transfer them into the bowl with the salad.

3. In a separate pan, at the same time if you can manage it, fry the pancetta or bacon until crispy.

4. Drain and add to the salad, keep the pan and the fat on low heat and add the red pepper and the mushrooms to it. Fry until the mushrooms are softened and the peppers are a little charred. Add to the salad and mix well.

5. Check the salad for seasoning, add some olive oil if it needs it, divide into serving plates and shave the Parmesan over them. Serve with crusty bread.

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See also

Crispy chickpeas

Caesar salad

Chicken couscous salad