Perfect Memorial Weekend Chick Pea Salad!

Near us in Astoria, there is this great restaurant called Il Bambino that has a bunch of little salads you can order.  My favorite is their chick pea panzanella which they make for me without the bread. I've played around with variations on this funky little salad.  The key is to keep all parts equal and the same size so it all balances well.

In a big bowl, toss in all of the following...

• 1 can of chick peas, drained and thoroughly rinsed
• 1 can of corn (preferably not with salt), drained and rinsed
• 1.5 cups of soy beans, shelled
• 1.5 cups of spring onions, scallions or red onion, diced to be the size of the chick peas
• 3 roma tomatoes (gutted), diced to the size of the chick peas
• 1/2 large green (or red, yellow, orange) bell pepper, diced to the size of the chick peas (see a theme yet?)
• 1.5 cups of cucumber, diced to the size of the chick peas
• 1.5 cups of good feta, diced to the size of the chick peas.  You need the feta to be salty and tart.  A sweet feta will not cut through the other sweet ingredients.  

Toss this all together and then season to taste with:

• salt (not too much because the feta is salty)
• black pepper (can never have enough)
• thyme
• dill
• cilantro
• lemon and/or lime juice (I like a bit of lemon and a lot of lime)
• extra virgin olive oil

Then just toss it all together and eat!  It is light, easy to make, filling and versatile!  Add in some avocado, tuna, celery, green peas...whatever you have kicking around leftover from that week's meals.  I used some leftover soy beans, cucumber and cherry tomatoes from the salads I make for lunch during the week.