Easy Mediterranean Lunch: Smashed Chickpea Toast

When lunchtime rolls around, you want something quick, easy, and nutritious to keep you going for the rest of the day. This simple mediterranean lunch smashed chickpea toast with hard-boiled eggs fits the bill perfectly. It’s healthy, flavorful, and takes only 15 minutes to make.

Why This Recipe Works

• Quick & Easy: This recipe is perfect for anyone short on time. The simple ingredients come together in just a few minutes, making it a breeze to whip up something delicious!
• Flavorful: The combination of spices and herbs gives this dish an amazing flavor that everyone will love.
• Healthy: This nutritious lunch contains protein-packed chickpeas, eggs, and a variety of fresh veggies
• Make Ahead: This dish is perfect for meal prep. You can make a big batch and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s great to eat as soon as it’s made, but it still tastes fantastic after a day or two.

Core Components

• Chickpeas: they’re packed with protein, fiber, and other good-for-you stuff.
• Sumac: used a lot in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. It tastes kinda like lemon and can make your dishes taste super fresh. It gives the dish a new dimension with a zingy kick.
• Smoked Paprika: gives the dish a smoky, kind of sweet flavor. It’s made from red peppers that have been dried and smoked.
• Milk Sandwich Bread: a soft, fluffy bread that’s perfect for making sandwiches. It’s made with milk, which gives it a slightly sweet taste and a nice texture. But any other bread that you enjoy toasting will work well too.

How to Make This Simple Mediterranean lunch Smashed Chickpea Toast

1. To make hard-boiled eggs, place them in a pot with cold water. Once the water starts boiling, place a lid on top and turn off the heat. The eggs will cook in the hot water for 10 minutes, which should be just enough time to prepare everything else.
2. Toast the bread slices in a pan with a bit of olive oil or butter until crispy and golden brown.
3. While the eggs are boiling and the bread is toasting, prepare the chickpea mixture. In a bowl, mix together the chickpeas, diced tomato, sliced green onion, cumin, sumac, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mash the chickpeas slightly with a fork or a potato masher.
4. Once the eggs are done boiling, peel and slice them.
5. To assemble the dish, spread the chickpea mixture on top of the toasted bread slices. Top with slices of hard-boiled egg and chopped parsley. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.

Variations and Substitutions

• Add Extra Veggies: If you want to add more veggies to this dish, you can try adding diced bell pepper and double the tomatoes for a creamier texture.
• Skip the Eggs: If you’re vegan or don’t like eggs, you can skip them and add some extra veggies or roasted nuts for protein.
• Change the Bread: You can use any type of bread that you like for this recipe. Sourdough, whole wheat, or rye would all work well.
• Replace the Spices: If you don’t have all the spices listed in the recipe, you can use a store-bought spice blend or a sauce like harissa instead.

Smashed Chickpea Toast

This chickpea toast is a quick and easy Mediterranean-inspired lunch. With just a few simple ingredients like chickpeas, spices, and a boiled egg, you'll have a filling and flavorful meal in no time

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 380g (14 oz) chickpeas a can, drained
• 1 sprig green onion
• 1/4 medium lemon we'll use the juice
• 1 medium tomato the riper, the better
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 cracks black pepper
• 1 sprig parsley for garnish
• 2 medium eggs
• 2 slices milk sandwich bread or any other type of bread that you like toasted
• 3 tbsp olive oil divided, 1 for toasting the bread or use butter

Instructions

• Start by adding the eggs in a pot covered with cold water and placing it on high heat. Once the water starst to boil, place a lid on top, and turn off the heat. Cook for 10 minutes.
• While the eggs are cooking, toast bread on each side until crispy and golden. You can use butter or oil for this. Or, for an even faster process, use a toaster.
• Drain and wash a can of chickpeas. Chop the green onion,the tomato cut a quarter of a lemon and prepare the garlic.
• To cook, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a pan set on medium heat. Once hot, add the chickpeas. Cover them for the first minute of cooking to avoid hot oil splatters. Add the onion, tomato, and grate in the garlic.

  Add smoked paprika, ground cumin, sumac, salt and black pepper, and cook everything down

  Once the chickpeas start to soften, mash some of them with the back of a spoon. Cook for a total of 7 minutes. Then take off the heat and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Plate by spreading the chickpea mixture onto the toasted bread, followed by slices of the hard boiled egg and chopped parsley. Add some finishing salt if you have it( I use basil and lemon flavored salt), and a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce.

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: chickpeas, Quick & Easy, Toast

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I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment below, or tag me with @solozaurcooking on Instagram and hashtag it #solozaurcookin.