Fresh summer chickpea salad with French Rotisseur mustard & Côtes du Rhône wines

Summer salads are delicious, healthy and really nutritious! I present you here a very special summer salad with chickpeas and French Rottiseur mustard, which tastes even a little better with a chilled glass of rose wine.

My recipe is a leafy salad with grainy Rotisseur mustard, with shallots and thyme. You'll find plenty of protein, too, as this summer salad features nutty-tasting chickpeas. This summer salad is completed by crunchy radishes and mushrooms.

A glass of well chilled rose or a light red wine, for example a delicious wine from the Côtes du Rhône region, which I present to you in detail in this article, goes well with it.

Fresh summer chickpea salad with Côtes du Rhône wines

What makes this summer salad recipe so special?

Chickpeas, an underestimated superfood

Chickpeas are a high quality food, with many healthy nutrients, rich in protein, fat, vitamins and fiber. Chickpeas must always be cooked before consumption.

In 100 grams of dried chickpeas are, in addition to the many nutrients still 15.5 grams of fiber contained. They keep blood sugar levels low and are also a wonderful source of protein, making this summer chickpea salad a little protein bomb without necessarily needing meat.

Chickpeas must always be cooked before eating to destroy the toxin phasin they contain. Leave 100 g of chickpeas to soak in water for 24 hours, then strain, rinse and boil with fresh water in a saucepan for 30 to 40 minutes. Drain the ready cooked chickpeas and cool them quickly in cold water. If you are in a hurry, you can of course use pre-cooked chickpeas from a can.

Rotisseur Mustard – a French Original

Who does not know Rotisseur Mustard, has missed something! This table mustard is a grainy mustard made from coarsely ground mustard seeds and there is no standard recipe or typical method of preparation.

Actually, behind the beautiful French name hides only a good and very coarse-grained mustard. Especially the balanced spiciness makes it the ideal choice for this summer salad. Typical for the Rotisseur mustard is the consistency, because the mustard seeds are not finely but coarsely ground and remain partly as whole grains in the mustard. This gives the Rotisseur mustard its incomparable taste.

Rotisseur mustard can also tolerate high temperatures well during preparation. This has the advantage when cooking or grilling that it does not burn so quickly.

In this French salad, the Rotisseur mustard provides a very special taste experience!

Dijon mustard – the mustard with character

Dijon mustard is one of the finest mustards around. Created years ago in the town of the same name, the recipe developed centuries ago has remained the same.

There are two special characteristics that make Dijon mustard: the selection of the mustard seeds and the liquid used. Only the grains of black and brown mustard are used, which are rich in pungent substances and give the mustard its spicy note. Dijon mustard is not made with vinegar, but with must, together with water, salt and spices.

In addition, since the fat is not removed from the mustard seeds, Dijon mustard is very rich in mustard oil. This makes it easy to heat, which is why it is preferred for cooking. The Dijon mustard is also often used as a vinaigrette or sauce to numerous dishes such as meat, fish and salads.

Piment D'Espelette from the French Basque Country

Piment D'Espelette is THE gourmet chili from the French Basque region. In the French Basque Country, near the Spanish border, on the edge of the Pyrenees, there is a region that grows a very own chili variety, the Espelette.

Piment d'Espelette is somewhat milder than Cayenne, but even more aromatic, with a fruity-sweet and at the same time slightly smoky flavor note. This is why most Basque cooks are replacing black pepper more and more with "Espelette" pepper.

For the production of the powder, the chiles are first dried in the open air. Then dried in the oven at 55 to 60 degrees to remove any residual moisture that remains. Then ground and immediately packaged. For 1 kg of the chili powder 8 kg of fresh chili peppers are used!

Radish – a secret star in this salad

With less than 15 kcal per 100 grams, the radish is very low in calories and also ideal for a healthy diet. The many dietary fibers also provide a feeling of satiety. The radishes are rich in vitamin C, as well as sufficient minerals in balanced quantities, such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, as well as some iron.

In addition to the healthy vitamins and minerals, radishes also contain some mustard oils, which are responsible for the piquant spicy note. The crunchy, fresh radishes are eaten mainly as raw food. But also as an ingredient in summer salads, the spicy hot nodules may not be missing of course!

Different summer salad variants and variations

You can change the summer salad by enriching it with (vegan) sausages or cheese for example. Of course, you can also use other types of lettuce or herbs. Very well fits parsley or also basil, if for example still tomatoes are added

As the word vinaigrette already reveals, it contains the French word vin for wine. This salad dressing is "soured" with sour wine instead of vinegar, plus the natural acidity of mustard. If the dressing is not acidic enough, it can be additionally acidified with some wine vinegar or you use lemon juice.

Wine accompaniment to this light summer salad

There are different wines that go perfectly with some dishes, and so this recipe with chickpeas has an ideal companion! A rose wine is perfect for light appetizers and summer dishes, as it is drunk at a temperature of 10°C to 12°C.

A very good accompaniment is, for example, a wine from the Côtes du Rhône region in France, after all, French influences can also be found in this salad. Not only the two types of mustard come from France and the Piment d'Espelette, but also chickpeas have a long tradition in France and are very popular among others in the south.

Wines from the Guigal vineyard in the Côte-Rôtie appellation

Côtes du Rhône (meaning "slopes of the Rhône") is the name of a nationally important wine-growing region in the southern Rhône valley. The AOC Côtes du Rhône appellation (Rhône Valley appellation) accounts for 9% of France's total vineyard area.

The wine I recommend here is the following: Guigal Estate, Rose, Côtes du Rhône Villages, 2021. This wine is a cuvee of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 10% Syrah, with a freshness, a scent of red berries and citrus fruits, as well as notes of raspberries, grapefruit and red currants.

The Guigal estate is located in Ampuis, south of Lyon, in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie appellation, where grapes have been grown for 2.400 years are cultivated. Here, on the bare and steep terrain shaped by the Rhône River, terraced since ancient times, the Guigal family has been working the largest appellations of the Rhône Valley with passion and perseverance since 1946, producing wines that are diverse, multi-faceted and versatile!

Sustainability as an important aspect in viticulture

Meanwhile, many winemakers are focusing on the aspect of sustainable management of their land. A respect for the ecosystem is also essential for the Guigal winery.

From the cultivation and maintenance of the terraces to the pruning and care of the vines, every step of the viticultural practice is in harmony with nature and the Rhône, also called the king of rivers in France.

For this, the Guigal winery was also awarded the High Environmental Value (HEV – level III) certificate. This certification rewards wineries that promote biodiversity, preserve soil life and develop positive synergies with the environment.

The preparation for this summer salad with chickpeas

Chickpea salad and the ingredients for 4 people

• 100 g of dried or 1 can of chickpeas of 425 g
• 1 head of lettuce of your choice
• 1 Shallot
• 8 Radish
• 4 mushrooms
• 200 g sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of Rotisseur mustard
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine
• 10 stalks of thyme
• some Piment D'Espelette
• Salt and pepper to taste

The preparation of the chickpea salad

De preparation for this salad is super simple and made in a jiffy. You can also change the ingredients if you like. Tomato or mozzarella also goes very well in the salad. Add a variety of leaf lettuces or even a bitter salad like radicchio to add even more variety to the recipe.

Wash and spin dry the lettuce and cut it into bite-sizes. Peel and finely dice the shallot, mix with sour cream, Dijon mustard and Rotisseur mustard, and white wine to make a dressing. Finely chop the thyme and stir it in.

Season the dressing with salt and pepper and Piment D'Espelette. Defoliate, wash and finely slice the radishes. Cut the mushrooms also in very thin slices.

Drain the cooked chickpeas and salt them lightly. Arrange the summer salad with chickpeas, mushrooms and radishes and drizzle with the vinaigrette. If you like, add some crispy croutons to the salad. The preparation time for this chickpea salad is about 25 minutes.