Chickpea and Tuna Salad

I was craving a good tuna salad for lunch one day but I wasn't in the mood for a typically mayonnaise based version. I also wanted to incorporate some of the chickpeas that I had made a few weeks ago. After a quick Google search, I found many recipes that used olive oil instead of mayo. I settled on a recipe at Kaly'ns Kitchen that was a garbanzo bean salad. It wasn't quite what I was looking for (no tuna) so I made a few changes based on what was in my pantry as well as adding in the tuna to create the recipe I was craving.

I am pretty sure this is my favorite tuna salad. Ever. I love a mayo tuna salad but at times the mayo is just too much. And kinda of blah. This salad is fresh and bursting with flavor. The balsamic was the surprise hit. It added a slightly acidic sweet punch that you got immediately on the first bite but it didn't overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.

Another ingredient that I loved was the addition of the Lawry's seasoning salt. I grew up with my mom adding that to a lot of our meals. I've always enjoyed the flavor and when I opened the pantry and saw the bottle, I thought it would be a great addition. And it definitely was! A little salty, smokey, and a tiny hint of garlic. A wonderful compliment to the balsamic and olive oil not to mention the chickpeas and tuna.

Olive oil will feature in many, many more tuna (and even chicken) salads that I make in the future. I love olive oil and can't believe I never thought to add it to this type of food before! After my search, I can see I am not alone in the olive oil/tuna salad love.

What really made this a perfect lunch for me was putting the salad on a piece of homemade bread drizzled with olive oil and then toasted. A perfect open faced sandwich. The real star is the tuna salad and just serving on one piece of bread is a great way to showcase that. A traditional two piece bread sandwich would be too much. Of course, you could also serve this using another type of bread. A pita would be a great way to serve the salad. Using lettuce leaves would be another alternative. Or you could even serve it alone with crackers.

Chickpea and Tuna Salad

Inspired by Garbanzo Salad w/Olives and Herbs by Kalyn's Kitchen

1 cup chickpeas
1 can tuna
1 T balsamic vinegar
4 T olive oil
1 tsp lawry's seasoning salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Mix all ingredients except tuna. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add in tuna and mix well. Allow flavors to mingle in the fridge. Excellent cold or at room temperature. Serve on bread drizzled with oil olive and toasted for a delicious open faced sandwich.

Serves 2 generous portions