Grilled Romaine and Peach Salad with Merguez Roasted Chickpeas
Merguez is a rich, complex seasoning so we wanted to do a vegetarian dish with it, but didn't want the seasoning to overwhelm everything it touches. Hence, roasted chickpeas. The dense, creamy sturdiness of roasted chickpeas makes them the perfect vehicle to stand up to merguez's intensity. To maximize their flavor and ability to cook, dry the chickpeas off as much as possible. This will give the seasoning and oil the best opportunity to adhere to the chickpeas and create perfect, crusty, chewy chickpeas.
We decided to contrast Merguez's earthy depth against the brightness of grilled summer fruits like nectarines and apricots, and tart pickled onions. The fruit should still be a little hard; completely ripe slices will cook to mush on your grill. We put all of that on a base of grilled romaine lettuce and topped it with a creamy, nutty, lemony tahini dressing for extra mouthfeel. You can serve this as a vegetarian entree salad, or toss some grilled shrimp or chicken in the tahini dressing and add that to the top.
For the salad:
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cans chickpeas
2 Tablespoons Merguez Sausage Seasoning
3 romaine lettuce hearts, cut lengthwise, with some of the root still intact
4 sliced peaches, nectarines, plums, or apricots, in any combination
2 ears of shucked corn
Thickly sliced lemons, for garnish
Fine Sea Salt and Ground White Pepper to taste
3 ounce log of goat cheese
1 batch of Pickled Red Onions
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
For the dressing:
1/2 cup tahini
1 garlic clove, minced
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Mediterranean Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Hot water, if necessary, to emulsify
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. While the oven heats, drain and rinse chickpeas. Lay out on a paper towel and pat dry, removing any chickpea skins that fall off the pea.
3. Toss chickpeas with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and Merguez Sausage Seasoning. Lay out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Check to see if they are dry and crispy; they may take up to 10 minutes more.
4. While these bake, brush lettuce, fruit, and corn with remaining olive oil and toss with Fine Sea Salt and Ground White Pepper to taste.
5. When the grill is hot, place lettuce, corn, lemon, and fruit slices on the grill. The corn will take the longest to cook, but stay attentive to the other ingredients as they cook, since their cooking time will depend on heat level and sugar content. Flip items as needed and cook until they all have beautiful charring and grill marks. Remove from heat.
6. As the corn cools, mix the salad dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients except for hot water in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until fully combined. If the consistency is too thick, splash a little hot water into the dressing; the hot water will thin out the dressing but help it remain emulsified. Add by the tablespoon, so you don’t inadvertently make the dressing too thin.
7. When corn is cool, stand it upright in a utility bowl and run a knife down the side to cut the kernels off the cob. Repeat for all ears of corn.
8. Crumble goat cheese and get Pickled Red Onions. Chop fresh mint.
9. Assemble salad. Drizzle with dressing. Layer down corn, then pickled onions, and scatter grilled stone fruits (nectarines, etc) around the lettuce. Top with approximately 1/2 cup of roasted chickpeas per romaine half. Tuck grilled lemon slices around the side of the lettuce. Add goat cheese crumbles, more dressing if desired, and a scattering of corn and chopped mint. Enjoy!
