This warm broccoli, bacon and chickpea salad is a simple, flavour-packed recipe that's perfect for lunch, dinner or served as a hearty side dish. Roasted broccoli, crispy bacon, crunchy spiced chickpeas and a creamy tahini dressing come together for a delicious meal that's both satisfying and nutritious. Best of all, it's a low-waste recipe that uses the whole broccoli, including the stalk, so nothing goes to waste while adding extra texture and goodness to every bite.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head of broccoli, including the stalk
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 rashers of bacon, chopped
- 15g Parmesan, finely grated
Tahini Dressing
- 1½ tbsp tahini
- 1½ tbsp warm water
- Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)
- 1 small garlic clove, minced (or ½ a large clove)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat the chickpeas dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Transfer to a bowl and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, the cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking tray and roast for 20–25 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through, until golden and crispy.
- Cut the broccoli into florets. Peel the tough outer layer from the broccoli stalk, the broccoli stalk is completely edible and chop the tender inside into bite-sized pieces.
- Place the broccoli on one side of a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season with a little salt and black pepper. Scatter the chopped bacon on the other side of the tray.
- Roast the broccoli and bacon at 180°C for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender with lightly charred edges and the bacon is crisp.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk together the tahini, warm water until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper, mixing until creamy.
- Transfer the roasted broccoli, bacon and crispy chickpeas to a large serving bowl. Add most of the Parmesan and drizzle over the dressing. Toss everything together until evenly coated.
- Finish with the remaining Parmesan and serve warm.