Grilled Vegetable and Chickpea Salad with Feta

I spent my Sunday afternoon sitting on one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire country. From my beach chair, I watched as my son and husband built a sand castle at the water's edge, while I dug my toes into the powdery white sand, appreciating the gorgeous place where I'm lucky to live, relaxing, and day dreaming- mostly about food. I began to think about slightly warm grilled vegetables, served on a salad, with the addition of chickpeas and feta, and decided that it would be our dinner. After the three of us enjoyed a post-beach nap, Sage and I put together this simple but wonderful salad.

I used zucchini and red peppers for the grilled vegetables (yellow squash and asparagus would be fantastic too) which were allowed to cool slightly, during the time that the chickpeas spent a few minutes on the grill, before being added to the salad. For the dressing, I went with the vinaigrette that I use whenever making a greek inspired pasta salad. I made far more than I needed, so I am going to half the recipe, but still, you probably won't need it all. This salad was great and made a complete meal for me, while Sage enjoyed it as a side along with some grilled chicken. We will definitely be repeating this recipe over the warm months ahead.

For the dressing:

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

3/4 tsp honey

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

fresh ground pepper

For the salad:

1 red bell pepper, in 1/3 inch slices

2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4 rounds

1 tbsp olive oil

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

16 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 oz. baby romaine

1 oz. reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup grape tomatoes

Preheat grill. Combine all dressing ingredients in a plastic drizzle bottle or container with a tight fitting lid, and shake to blend. Set aside.

Toss bell pepper and zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to grill basket. Heat over high direct heat, occasionally turning vegetables for even cooking, for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Spread onto a plate and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, place chickpeas into grill basket and grill for several minutes until warmed through.

To assemble salad, arrange greens in bottom of bowl, top with warm vegetables and chickpeas, feta and tomatoes. Serve with dressing.