Mashed chickpea sandwich

Having crowned myself queen of eating healthy in the family, (not that it has been helping my weight issues since I lose my daily battle at dusk and gobble up all that I haughtily refused to eat since dawn) I was stumped when faced with the task of making a vegetarian sandwich.

I have never in my short history of cooking edible food, made one.

Egg sandwich would be the most vegetarian I have got to. Let’s not debate about egg being considered vegetarian or not. To each his own stomach, I say.

I have devoured many loaves slathered with Marmite and butter, but which component other than the assembly can I take credit for?

That vegetarian sandwich? Its got to be healthy too. Creamy Garlic mayo sniffles inside the fridge. What will bind the vegetables?

Hummus was an option. Considered diluting it a tad bit to slightly lower the flavour. Could have worked.

In my resolve to avoid ready-made meals, I have had to make amendments as my dilemma with forgetting to pre-soak dried beans led to us not having any form of legumes at all. Canned beans to the rescue!

So I popped open a can of chickpeas to make the hummus and inspiration struck in the form of a broken blender. Armed with a fork, I began the tedious process of mashing the chickpeas to eventually get it into a paste for hummus.

Pausing this process to make sure my infant does not continue to lick the floor (rugs and blankets do not survive his grasp) and to console an inconsolable toddler who decided that she must have the bag I forgot at the grandparents’ place, my arms got tired.

Decided to quit the hummus and give this a try and lo behold. I was converted.

I now love to make vegetarian sandwiches as much as I loved the idea of eating them.

The mixture is perfect on its own as a salad and is very quick to assemble in sandwich form. Its quite filling and keeps hunger pangs at bay for quite a while. You can add more vegetables if you wish; grated beetroot would be delicious.

If the fat content is not an issue, a spoonful of mayonnaise would be good too.

Do give it a try and keep me posted on the results!

Things to fine dice

• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 carrot
• 1 medium size red onion or a small bunch of spring onion whites
• 1 large deseeded tomato
• handful of coriander leaves

Other ingredients

• can of chickpeas-drained and rinsed
• squirt of mustard sauce or tahini
• garlic salt or regular salt and garlic powder
• freshly cracked pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Multi grain bread/multi seed bread/Wholemeal bread/Brown bread

Mash the chickpeas with the back of a fork and add the mustard sauce, salt and olive oil to turn it into a spreadable paste. You can decide on the flavour and consistency.

Tumble in the chopped up bits and mix well. Spread in between slices of freshly baked bread(yum!) or any good multigrain/seed bread or good-old wholemeal bread.

Please do not resort to white bread unless that is the only bread available at that hour and you would not be able to continue living without bread. Or you are making this for guests who would be highly offended at being served healthy bread and would prefer slices from that loaf of sugar, also known as white bread.

You could toast it to accentuate the flavour but I like it just as it is. Addition of finely sliced green chillies should lift it up a notch for a more spicier palate.

Bon appetit!