Jalapeño Chickpea Tartine (or sandwich!!)

roasted jalapeños! sweet pickled onions! scallions! smoked paprika!

This lunch was actually inspired by a brunch item I had at Hatchet Hall a few weeks ago. It didn’t have a name, but it was a roasted potato dish with pickled yellow onion, dill, mayo, jalapeño, and horseradish. I loved the combination and wanted to turn it into something I could eat for lunch. I figured chickpeas would be the perfect vessel since they have a similar starchiness and frankly because they’re my favorite plant-based protein!

This chickpea salad toast (or sandwich!) also contains pickled yellow onion, dill, mayo and jalapeño, but in this version, one jalapeño is roasted, which gives it a bit of a smoky flavor and tames the spice level (so don’t be scared). The first time I made it, it wasn’t spicy at all, so on my second round, I added an additional half jalapeño to get back some of that spice. That was the sweet spot for me!

If you don’t like spicy, you can leave that half jalapeño out! Or, you can use 1/4 jalapeño instead. It’s customizable!

This recipe calls for making your own quick pickled onions, which is super easy and also my favorite part of the dish. It adds a nice sweetness as well as acidity from the vinegar. You don’t need to make them ahead of time, although you’re more than welcome to, but you’ll have extra when you’re finished, so stick those in your fridge and let them marinate even further. You can use them in salads, with eggs, in sandwiches, in bowls — I feel like I truly put them on everything!

I originally intended for this recipe to be a sandwich, but I also really loved it as a tartine (pictured below), so feel free to make it either way!