Cilantro Fest 2011, Night 1

I love summer.  Beaches, margaritas, and CILANTRO!!!  I definitely associate the taste of cilantro with summer time - it makes me think of the free chips and salsa that come with a pitcher of margaritas at Noche Mexicana, my FAVORITE Mexican place (why anyone would go to Blockheads on Columbus and 108 is beyond me...so much good Mexican in my 'hood, including Noche Mexicana just down the block, yet gross Blockheads is always packed.)  Anyways, as my good friend Meg pointed out, the only problem with cilantro is you don't typically need a ton of it, yet the store always sells it in HUGE bunches.  So tonight is night one of Cilantro Fest 2011.  I took a recipe straight from the pages of Real Simple and made a delicious chickpea and raisin salad.  I followed the directions exactly and it was really good and easy, but next time I'm going to embellish a bit and add some diced red onion, another one of my favorite flavors!  Forgive me for simply copying and pasting, but hey, its just as simple as it sounds!

Ingredients

• 1 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 cup fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• kosher salt and black pepper

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the raisins, vinegar, and sugar and bring just to a simmer; remove from heat and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, toss the chickpeas, cilantro, scallions, and raisin mixture with the oil, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

One slight deviation from the recipe:  I used golden raisins.  Not nearly as attractive, but it's what I had in the cupboard and the taste was just as it should have been.  Also, I dropped a chickpea on the floor and Lyla played with it for approximately one hour.  SO CUTE!