People have been eating chickpeas for as long as humans have been cultivating crops, which isn't a surprise. Chickpeas have the flavor and nutrition of a legume but a texture that's more substantial than a bean or lentil. At our house, we've been eating chickpeas for as long as I've been cooking.

I think this chickpea salad is a summer recipe because it's got a cucumber in it. My daughter says it's good with "pork chops and stuff", which sounds about right to me.

To make the chickpeas, follow the recipe for homemade white beans, but anticipate an extended cooking time. The salad tastes best when the chickpeas are soft and not at all granular to the bite.

Ingredients
2 cup homemade chickpeas (dry chickpeas, $1.99 per pound) (1 cup dry chickpeas ≈ 2 cup cooked)
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ($8.99 per 25.5 fluid ounces)
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
⅛-¼ teaspoon red chile flake
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
½-1 cucumber ($1.99 per pound), sliced and quartered
3-4 radish, sliced (optional)
3-4 tablespoon chopped basil or Italian parsley

Procedure
Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Whisk to blend. Pour over chickpeas. Toss with cucumber, radishes (if using) and basil or parsley.