Chickpea 2 with Olives & Dried Herbes

Margee Smith introduced this recipe to me through the cookbook by Patricia Wells, Bistro Cooking.It is very similiar to the Chickpea recipe I posted last month. Here I experimented with kalmata olives and oil-cured olives, fines herbes and herbes de Provence, chianti red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Each combination tastes great. Fines Herbes is a dried combination of four: parsley, chives, chervil & tarragon. Herbes de Provence is more floral and contains a variety of flavors. Both mixtures are French, so they are delicious! If I had to make the choice I would use the fines herbes, balsamic vinegar and kalmata olives 🙂

In a medium bowl combine:

1 -15-oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup finely minced onion

1/2 cup pitted olives cut into 1/4’s or 1/6’s, kalmata or oil-cured

5 cloves garlic, minced

In a small bowl whisk together:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, aged or red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dried fines herbes or herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper or more

Pour marinade over chickpea mixture. Mix well, cover and refrigerate 1-2 days before serving. Stir several times.

Serve at room temperature.