Mediterranean Salad

I love creating salads and this is one of my latest discoveries. It has a lot of traditional mediterranean ingredients and is very healthy for you as well as colourful and easy to make. It serves two as a main dish or more if you're making it as a side to a bigger meal.

• Ready In: 10 mins
• Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1  green pepper, thinly sliced
• 1  yellow pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 (400 g) can chickpeas, drained
• 1 (400 g) can artichoke hearts, drained
• 1  small avocado, peeled and sliced
• 6  sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
• 2  tablespoons za'atar spice mix
• 4  tablespoons  chopped parsley
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
•  salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Put half the olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the sliced peppers for 3-5 minutes until the skins start to blister and the peppers soften.
2. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly for a few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put the chickpeas, artichoke hearts, avocado and tomatoes in a large bowl.
4. When the peppers have cooled slightly, add them to the other ingredients in the bowl.
5. Sprinkle over the Zaatar seasoning, or make a reasonable substitute by combining thyme, marjoram, and sesame seeds with a bit of salt.
6. Make the dressing by mixing up the other half of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
7. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.
8. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley.
9. Serve either at room temperature or chilled.
10. If you are making this ahead of time, leave out the avocados until just before serving or they will discolour.
11. You can also spice up this salad by using a chilli-infused olive oil.