All I can say is this Thanksgiving weekend, I was craving something that called for minimal effort for lunch and I was already tired of leftovers. I banged around in the fridge and cupboard a bit and voila! The result of my experimentation is a filling, nutritious filling for bread, wraps, even topping a salad. I suspect this is a little like tuna salad except - even as a meat eater - I never ate tuna salad because I was not into the taste of sea-life so I can’t say it’s a good match but it is good on its own terms. Here, I’ve taken some of the flavors associated with so-called seafood and mashed it up in the handy bowl of my food processor. The flavors increase and meld the longer it chills but you can also eat it right away. I also used just a small amount of mayo – feel free to increase or even sub with tahini if you’re interested in something that has more of a Middle Eastern flavor. Want to up the tang? Add some capers.
15-ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 15-ounce can hearts of palm, drained and rinsed, roughly sliced into thirds ½ tablespoon garlic, minced 1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise 2 teaspoons yellow mustard 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried ¼ - ⅛ teaspoon dried kelp (optional) 1 teaspoon smoked paprika ⅓ cup celery ribs, minced ⅓ cup red onion, diced ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes Salt and pepper to taste
Add everything but the salt and pepper to the large bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined but not smooth. There should be some texture. You might want to remove the lid and scrape the sides of the processor bowl as you go. This took me about 25 pulses. Serve as you like, maybe with some extra paprika and fresh dill on top.