Smoked paprika potato and chickpea salad

This salad is the sum of very democratic ingredients – they all give and take agreeably to balance in perfect harmony.

Credit: Murdoch Books

• serves

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

The blandness of the potato is important for offsetting all the other flavours. Nutty and slightly grainy chickpeas make a wonderful contrast to other textures and keep the paprika in check. The sweet fire of the onion perfectly balances the eggs. There is no cloying mayo dressing – instead, a slightly sharp-sweet herbal concoction.

Ingredients

• 2 kg (4 lb 8 oz) baby potatoes
• sea salt flakes
• 6 eggs
• 2–3 tsp smoked sweet Spanish paprika
• ½ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) olive oil
• 400 g (14 oz tin) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 handfuls mint leaves
• 2 handfuls baby rocket (arugula) leaves
• freshly ground pepper

Dressing

• ¼ cup (60 ml/2 fl oz) red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, add a large pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender. Add the eggs in the last 6 minutes of cooking time. Drain and cool slightly. When the eggs are cooled, peel off the shells. Cut the potatoes into uniform medium chunks, put into a large bowl with the paprika and toss.

Pour the oil into a sturdy roasting pan and put in the oven for 5 minutes to heat up. Toss the potatoes in the oil and roast them for about 20 minutes, or until crisp and golden. About 5 minutes before the end of cooking, tip in the chickpeas and lightly toss to warm through.

Tip the potato mixture into a large bowl. Cut the eggs into quarters and add to the bowl with the onion, mint and rocket. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing, pour over the salad, toss together lightly and serve.

Note

Sweet smoked paprika increases the earthiness of a dish. However, you might consider swapping or combining another spice with paprika: warming cumin, or fennel with its slightly aniseed flavour and sweet aroma.

Recipe from The Good Carbs Cookbook by Alan Barclay, Philippa Sandall and Kate McGhie (Murdoch Books, pb, $39.99)

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

The blandness of the potato is important for offsetting all the other flavours. Nutty and slightly grainy chickpeas make a wonderful contrast to other textures and keep the paprika in check. The sweet fire of the onion perfectly balances the eggs. There is no cloying mayo dressing – instead, a slightly sharp-sweet herbal concoction.