Mediterranean Summer Bean Salad

I know it’s not yet summer but this weekend weather certainly feels like we’re in the middle of it.

This bean vegetable salad is light, super healthy and tastes great. It’s easy to make, gluten-free and perfect for sharing.

Ingredients for salad:

1 15 oz can garbanzo bean, drained and rinsed
2 mini cucumbers, skins on, sliced
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup black olives, pitted and halved*
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Ingredients for dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 small or 1 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil and/or dried oregano**
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients for dressing into a bowl or large measuring cup and whisk together. Set aside.

2. Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl, except for the cilantro leaves.

3. Pour as much of the dressing onto the salad as you prefer and mix well. You can save any excess for other salads.

4. Add the cilantro leaves and mix again before serving.

   *You can use any kind of black olives you like. I prefer the plain black and Carey prefers the calamata so we add them separately at the end.

   **You can add both basil and oregano if you like italian seasoning but I was trying to keep the recipe simple in case you didn’t have both.