Almost Fall Salad with Honey Mustard Chickpeas and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This salad is full of greens, crunchy broccoli, sweet apple chips, goat cheese, and these fantastic honey mustard chickpeas, and everything comes together with an apple cider vinaigrette. This salad is company-worthy, and it is sure to please.

It is almost fall. For some, fall begins right after labor day. Since I live in Arizona, I can not think of fall yet with our record-breaking heat this year. It is still too hot here. I see all my midwestern friends making soups and talking about pumpkin spice this, and pumpkin pie spice that. It's too soon for me. I am easing into the fall foods, and I am starting with this salad. It says fall with the crispy, sweet apple chips, but it's still summery enough because it's a salad. And that is what I want to make in my kitchen right now.

I wish I could explain how my brain works and how I think up recipes. The idea to make honey mustard chickpeas just entered my mind out of nowhere, really. That was the basis of this salad, and then everything else fell into place. I saw a bag of the apple chips at the grocery store and then thought of the apple cider vinaigrette, and boom! This salad has life! I thought of this recipe on the fly, and it was random and spontaneous. I am thinking of adding a category called "Cooking Without A Recipe." The pictures won't be so great, but they will be from when I came up with the recipe, and it will be authentic. Nothing planned or staged.

Almost Fall Salad with Honey Mustard Chickpeas and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Serves 2

Honey Mustard Chickpeas:

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed of foam

Olive oil

Apple Cider Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 generous teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salad:

3/4 of a head of romaine lettuce

3 to 4 large Brussels sprouts, shaved

2 cups raw broccoli, florets cut in half

2 to 3 ounces of goat cheese

Golden Delicious apple chips (or any apple chip of your choice)

Preheat oven to 400° and position the rack on the bottom. In a small-sized bowl, combine the rinsed chickpeas with the honey, Dijon, and cayenne. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir to combine. Pour chickpeas on to a baking sheet, place pan on the lower rack, and roast for 15 minutes or until chickpeas are nicely brown in spots. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

While the chickpeas are cooking, you can make the dressing. Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar with a lid, and shake until combined. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the salad, using a mandoline, shave the Brussels sprouts. In a large bowl, mix shaved Brussels sprouts with torn romaine leaves, and toss in broccoli florets. Spread greens out on a platter. Add cooled chickpeas and top with crumbled goat cheese and apple chips. Serve with dressing.