Marinated Summer Squash and Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Herbs, and Parmesan

Directions

Dump chickpeas into a colander placed in the sink, then rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. Let chickpeas drain while you make dressing. Zest the lemon and put zest in a small glass measuring cup or a small bowl. Squeeze lemon juice, then add more if needed until you have 1/4 C fresh lemon juice and add juice to lemon zest. Whisk in 5 T olive oil. Pat chickpeas dry with a paper towel, then place in a bowl with a tight-fitting lid that’s large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Add 2 T dressing and let chickpeas start to marinate. Wash squash if needed and cut off stem and blossom end. Cut squash in half if large, then thinly slice. Layer 1/3 of squash in colander, sprinkle with 1 tsp. coarse ground salt, then repeat with two more layers. Let squash sit in a colander in the sink until water is released, about 10-15 minutes. When squash looks wet, spread out on a strip of paper towel, put another layer of towel on top and press down on paper towel until all the water is absorbed by the paper towels. Put the dried squash into the plastic bowl with the marinating chickpeas, add 3 T more dressing and let squash and chickpeas marinate 1-2 hours at room temperature. When you’re ready to serve the salad, chop 1 cup fresh herbs of your choice. Toss salad with the rest of the dressing Mix in chopped fresh herbs, and season with fresh ground black pepper. Arrange salad on individual plates and top each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.