Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad with Toasted Pita Chips

I spent the entire day today thinking about what to make for dinner. It was one of those days where I just wasn't inspired to make any one particular thing. I had some chicken breasts in the refrigerator, but beyond that I had no clue what would be on the dinner table tonight. It got to be around 2:00 this afternoon and I finally reached for a cookbook and hoped that something would jump out at me. I came across this recipe for "middle eastern vegetable salad" by Ina Garten and decided that this would be part of my dinner. I was still unsure of what to do with the chicken, so I went with my trusty baked chicken recipe that never lets me down. If you've been following my blog for a while now then I'm sure you've seen the recipe, but just in case you haven't, you can find it HERE. I'm looking forward to the end of a dreary and cold Monday! I'm sure I'll have my spunk back by tomorrow :)

Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad with Toasted Pita Chips
Adapted from: Ina Garten

• 1 12-16oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed under cold water
  
• 1 pound tomatoes, seeded, cored and diced
• 1 seedless cucumber, halved and diced (I peeled mine but this is optional)
• 10 scallions, thinly diced
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
  
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
  
• 1/3 cup fresh mint *see note*, chiffonade
  
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz greek feta, cubed (not crumbled)
• pita bread - to make the chips (I used whole wheat pita)
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Seed, core and chop the tomatoes, peel and dice the cucumber and slice the scallions.

Chiffonade the basil by stacking the leaves together, rolling them and then cutting them into thin strips.

Place the tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, chickpeas, mint, basil and parsley in a large bowl and combine.

**note** My mint was looking rather pathetic when I grabbed it to use it for this dish, so I decided to omit it. I thought it was really good even without the mint, it is your choice whether you want to use it or not.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it is emulsified. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

Cube the feta and gently fold it into the salad.

Cut the pita bread into triangles and place on a baking sheet that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Brush a little olive oil on the top of each pita chip and then sprinkle them with a little garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. They will be lightly brown and delicious!

If you want to serve it up with my baked chicken, you can find that incredibly simple recipe here.

Enjoy!