Portuguese Chickpea and Tuna Salad
Portuguese Chickpea and Tuna Salad is based on a delicious dish that I first tried at a little pesticos bar in Lisbon. It’s a simple dish, but oh so tasty!
You will find variations of this popular tasty salad on the menu at most pesticos or tapas bar/restaurants in both Portugal and Spain, often made with bacalao (salt cod) instead of tuna.
Easy to make at home, it makes a tasty dish to take to a potluck or serve with arugula or mixed greens for lunch or a light summer dinner. Of course, you can do as the Portuguese and Spanish do, and include as part of a pesticos or tapas spread.
The basic ingredients for this salad are tuna (or bacalao) chickpeas, onion, olives, and parsley. dressed with a light vinaigrette of lemon juice and olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The tuna is the real star of the show so be sure to use a good quality, flavourful tuna. I like to use a jar of Portuguese or Italian tuna in olive oil. It’s a bit more expensive, but I think it’s worth it for the flavour.
For my version, I’ve stayed true to the dish I had in Lisbon and added potato and hard-boiled egg. I’ve tried other recipes that included red bell pepper, or chopped tomatoes, but this is definitely my favorite!
A note about raw onion…..
If you are like me and not a big fan of the sharpness of raw onion (there is nothing worse then taking a bite and tasting only one thing—raw onion), there is an easy way to reduce their pungency while retaining the raw texture.
Slice or chop your onion (or shallot0 and place in a bowl covered with ice-water, or white wine or rice vinegar and let soak for 15-20 minutes.
If using the vinegar method, drain and rinse the onion.
Either method will result in onions that still have a bit of crunch, but a much milder, softer flavour.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6-8 small new potatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 -3 hard boiled eggs
- 12-15 small green olives
- 540 ml canned chick peas rinsed & drained
- 200 gram Tuna drained
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced onion or substitute one small shallot, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the hard-boiled eggs and potatoes
- Place the eggs in a small saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and set aside to cook in the hot water for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, rinse the eggs under cold water (or place in a bowl of cold water) to stop the cooking and cool the eggs . Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the salad.Note: You can prepare the potatoes while the eggs are cooking, they will finish up about the same time.
- Wash the potatoes and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place in a saucepan and cover with water, about two inches above the potatoes. Add salt, cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium high and continue to simmer uncovered until the potatoes are tender and you can easily pierce the potato with a fork. (about 10-15 minutes once it starts to boil).
Assemble the Salad
- Peel and roughly chop the eggs, set aside.
- In a large bowl, place the chickpeas, olives, potatoes. and ½ the parsley. Break up the tuna into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the juice and zest of the lemon with the olive oil. Add to the other salad ingredients and toss gently. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a large serving dish. Garnish with the egg, a few lemon slices and the remaining parley.