Marinated Summer Squash and Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Herbs, and Parmesan

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed well and drained (Use only half the can for a lower-carb salad.)
• 1 lemon, zest and juice, plus enough more juice to make a total of 1/4 C fresh lemon juice
• 5 T olive oil 1 1/2 lb. thinly sliced summer squash, about 3-4 squash (use any summer squash you'd like, but small Flying Saucer squash are especially good in this)
• 1 T coarse ground kosher salt or sea salt (be sure it's coarse ground salt)
• 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used a combination of flat Italian parsley and fresh basil, but mint or dill would also be good) fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Dump chickpeas into a colander placed in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. Let chickpeas drain while you make dressing.
2. Zest the lemon and put zest in a small glass measuring cup or a small bowl. Squeeze lemon juice, then add more if needed until you have 1/4 C fresh lemon juice and add juice to lemon zest. Whisk in 5 T olive oil. Pat chickpeas dry with a paper towel, then place in a bowl with a tight-fitting lid that's large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Add 2 T dressing and let chickpeas start to marinate.
3. Wash squash if needed and cut off stem and blossom end. Cut squash in half if large, then thinly slice. (I used a mandoline with a 3mm blade, but you can also cut it by hand.)
4. Layer 1/3 of squash in colander, sprinkle with 1 tsp. coarse ground salt, then repeat with two more layers. Let squash sit in a colander in the sink until water is released, about 10-15 minutes. When squash looks wet, spread out on a strip of paper towel, put another layer of towel on top and press down on paper towel until all the water is absorbed by the paper towels. (Don't skip this step or the salad will be watery.)
5. Put the dried squash into the plastic bowl with the marinating chickpeas, add 3 T more dressing and let squash and chickpeas marinate 1-2 hours at room temperature. (If you're home turn the bowl over a few times to keep the squash and chickpeas coated with the dressing.)
6. When you're ready to serve the salad, chop 1 cup fresh herbs of your choice. Toss salad with the rest of the dressing (or as much as you need for salad to be well coated with dressing), mix in chopped fresh herbs, and season with fresh ground black pepper. Arrange salad on individual plates and top each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes