This is a sure fire winner by my wife. This salad goes very well with just about any Mediterranean dish and is particularly good with grilled fish or lamb.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 marinated roast capsicum (red bell pepper) chopped into 1cm (1/2 inch) squares
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small Spanish (red) onion, diced
2×400gr (14oz) cans of chickpeas
1/2 cup Italian (flat leaf) parsley, chopped
2 lemons juiced
1/3 cup of virgin olive oil.

Combine ingredients in a bowl and serve.

If you want to use a fresh red capsicum, cut it in half, take out the seeds and place both halves, skin side up, under a hot grill. Grill until the skin begins to go black and starts to smoke and burn. When skins are mostly black and blistered, place the capsicum in a plastic bag and tie the bag closed and allow it to sit in the unopened bag for about 10 to 20 minutes, to sweat. Take the capsicum out of the plastic bag and peel the skin off. The skin should just lift off quite easily.

This is a quick and easy recipe that is always popular with my dinner guests.

Ingredients

1 small jar (170gr or 6oz) of marinated artichokes, drained
1 400gr (14oz) can of cannellini beans, drained
1/2 of a cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
Juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon (or more to suit taste) fresh basil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Method

Puree all ingredients in a food processor.

Serve with either crackers or pide (Turkish bread)