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Store cupboard salad. Chickpea, pepper and prosciutto

Lisa 'cooked' this salad tonight.

It's from Lucas Holweg in the Sunday Times again.

We ate it in the garden and it was a very nice end to a day that involved four very hot journeys on the train.

Chickpea, pepper and prosciutto salad 

A real store-cupboard special, this, using not just tinned chickpeas, but a jar of grilled and skinned peppers — a colourful and supremely useful standby for salads and first courses.

Serves 4-6

 Ingredients

 ¼ medium red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3-4 tbsp red-wine vinegar
½ tsp ground cumin
2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed or chopped on a board
Sea salt and pepper
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 x 400g tins chickpeas (or Spanish ones from a jar), drained and rinsed — you want about 450g drained weight
3 roasted peppers from a good-quality jar, drained and sliced into rough strips
4 slices of prosciutto, cut into rough pieces
2 handfuls parsley leaves, picked from their stalks  

Method

Put the chopped onion, garlic and 3 tbsp of red-wine vinegar in a bowl, together with the cumin and fennel seed. Season, being generous with the salt, and stir together, then whisk in the oil to make a dressing.

Put the chickpeas and peppers in a big bowl, add the dressing and stir together. Leave to stand for 20 minutes, then taste and add a bit more vinegar if you feel it needs it.

Lightly toss in the ham and parsley, divide between four bowls and serve.

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