Early in our marriage, best sous husband Dave and I somehow fell upon a simple summer recipe for pasta –let’s face it, that was spaghetti back then — topped with lots of fresh, diced tomatoes, shrimp, chopped feta, and dried oregano. (Not to be confused with the more current uber-popular feta sheet pan meal.) For a few years, we served it a lot to ourselves and also to anyone who came to eat outside on the deck in warm weather, of which there was plenty in northern Virginia. Compared to the cookout meals we were used to in the midwest (i.e. burgers and dogs, baked beans, and huge bowls of potato salad and slaw), this felt like sophisticated fare indeed. And while we adored the shrimpy spaghetti, we later put it aside for a few years as seafood-averse children came and went, houses were bought and sold, and moves were made only 25 times or so. Occasionally, it would pop back up in the summer repertoire, but only briefly. I’m sad to say I don’t even think there’s a copy of the recipe in the house, though a recipe probably isn’t necessary. I just might have to put it on this summer’s desirable meal list.
For the last month, I’ve had a note on my fridge (where all important information in life resides) to make a chickpea and pasta salad that I thought I might stuff in halved sweet peppers or …. I don’t know. Somehow, it didn’t get made right away as we had so much cool, rainy weather, but the thought kept perking. Chickpeas, as you’d know or maybe not, have been having a moment for a few years now. It seems chickpea salad recipes keep flying across my social media feeds and, when I look back at my own blog, these peas (beans?) have found a home here, too. Just in case you think I don’t get trendy. But as I finally got around to creating the salad –which I knew would contain feta because I love it — the old Virginia summer spaghetti routine passed through my brain and, I thought, “Why not add shrimp and tomatoes to this chickpea goodness?” And that’s how you’re getting my Chickpea-Pasta Salad with Shrimp + Feta, along with a tasty oregano vinaigrette that could also grace a cold chicken sandwich or a grilled lamb chop.
Why are chickpeas so popular? “Chickpeas….” Harvard University Health
One of the keys to a happy (cooking) life is planning so that you have dinner on the way but still have time to live your life at work, volunteering, seeing family, playing games, exercising, visiting with friends, reading all you want, or listening to/making music. If we haven’t been good planners or menu makers, and want to avoid restaurants, we turn to a pantry dish. While keeping a complete pantry for winter meals in case of inclement weather is the norm, it’s just as worthwhile come summer when it’s too hot to cook much of anything. Storing microwave rice, canned beans, canned tuna or salmon, cheeses, pasta, couscous, quinoa, tortillas, frozen vegetables, frozen chicken breasts, frozen rolls or baguette, and frozen shrimp, salmon, or burgers will guarantee you can throw together something tasty and nutritious without a lot of time or work.
Because I keep a packed pantry, when I began to make this meal, all I had to do was chop a few vegetables, open two cans, and make a vinaigrette while the water came to a boil for the orecchiette (little ears) pasta. My shrimp was frozen, so –to save time and water– I fished out the pasta into a colander with a mesh skimmer, then tossed in the shrimp. By the time the water boiled again, the shrimp was done. There isn’t much faster than shrimp! You could skip that step if you buy cooked shrimp (COSTCO sells a nice container with sauce in its deli section), but do toss it with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe oregano before adding it to the salad.
That reminds me...if you want a tastier salad of any kind: Season each ingredient as possible, just as I did the shrimp. For instance: When my pasta (cooked in salted water) is drained but still hot, I drizzle it lightly with olive oil and give it a pinch of salt and pepper. Do be careful about the salt here as 1. the pasta water is salty and 2. you’ll add salty feta later on.
above and below: seasoning individual elements before adding to pasta salads
I have a beautiful herb garden, as well as herbs in pots, and love to make an herby vinaigrette. This salad features an oregano vinaigrette made with both oregano and parsley. If you’ve no fresh oregano, basil would do in its place and pairs well with parsley–your homegrown or the inexpensive grocery variety. In that case, you might ramp up the dried oregano in the salad. Extra parsley? Chop up the rest for your next green salad; you’ll be glad you did.
If you’re cooking for two, you’re in luck because this recipe makes 6 servings; you can forego a little cooking! Round 2: Serve up just the salad for lunch the next day, refreshing the vinaigrette. Round 3: Have it for dinner another night with grilled chicken or canned tuna and maybe another vegetable? If you want to be lazy, just save the picture below for your recipe when you try this:
Chickpea-Pasta Salad with Shrimp + Feta
Ingredients
- Oregano Vinaigrette-see COOK’S NOTES
- 8 oz cooked and cooled small pasta – such as orecchiette, farfalle, elbows, or mini penne (Seasoned with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch each salt and pepper while hot.)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 scallions, sliced thinly
- 12 olives-any, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped red bell peppers
- 1 small fennel bulb, cored and chopped
- 2 stalks celery with leaves, sliced thinly
- Dried oregano
- Crushed red pepper
- 4- oz chopped or crumbled feta cheese, divided
- 3 cups mixed salad greens
- 1 pound (16-oz) cooked large shrimp– peeled, tailed, deveined (Season w/ salt+pepper while hot or before adding.)
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes, diced — for garnish
- Lemon wedges-for serving
Instructions
- Carefully stir together the pasta, beans, scallions, olives, peppers, fennel, celery, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, and ¾ of the feta cheese. Add a small pinch of kosher salt (the feta is salty; don’t salt too much), a generous pinch each of freshly ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Pour half the vinaigrette over the salad; stir gently. Taste and adjust seasonings. (If making ahead, add only a drizzle of vinaigrette, stir and store covered overnight. Dress and garnish salad just before serving.)
- Place about a half-cup of the salad greens around perimeters of six plates or shallow bowls. Season the greens with a tiny pinch salt and pepper. Add a generous scoop of the salad at the center and place 2-3 shrimp to the side. Garnish with reserved feta and chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle the feta and tomatoes with dried oregano and add a lemon wedge to the plate. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette over the entire salad. Serve immediately, squeezing lemon on top.STORAGE: Store salad only well-covered for 3 days, keeping shrimp, tomatoes, cheese, lemon, and vinaigrette separate. To serve again: Refresh with vinaigrette or a drizzle each red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and add the garnishes. Do not freeze.
Notes
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano (can sub basil)
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 large, plump cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil In a 1-cup measuring cup or small bowl, combine the herbs with the vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Let rest a few minutes to let the salt dissolve. Whisking, drizzle the olive oil in slowly until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour into a small jar with lid for storage. Copyright Alyce Morgan, 2025. All rights reserved.
CHANGE IT UP: The beauty of a bean salad–besides its quick nature– is its innate versatility. Choose your beans (cannellini, black, pinto, etc.) and add other suitable ingredients. Example: cannellini beans might like a basil vinaigrette, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, Parmigiano-Reggiano shards, etc. Pinto beans could be happy with pickled jalapeños, a cilantro vinaigrette, roasted diced chiles, grilled corn, white onion, avocado, and cotija cheese. Like the chickpea idea but not my vegetable choices? There’s no reason to not toss in your favorite chopped grilled asparagus or green beans, diced cucumber, small pieces of broccoli or cauliflower or some veg you’ve got sadly lingering in your fridge. As noted in the recipe, you can choose your favorite small pasta or grab what’s on sale. No beans? Use a pound of pasta instead. This is, after all, your salad.
Not making a vinaigrette? Don’t buy bottled dressing. Instead: Add the juice of a lemon or maybe two (in addition to the lemon wedge for serving), a good splash of red wine vinegar and a very generous drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle on a generous seasoning of dried oregano, black pepper, along with a little crushed red pepper. Taste and see what else you need. If it’s bland, add more red wine vinegar or lemon juice before trying extra salt and pepper.
….Update: A few weeks after I posted this, my best sous and husband Dave needed a whole meal dish to take to a meeting. Why not remake this–also giving it another test– and put it in a large casserole dish to make it easy for transport? Without the shrimp, the dish suits vegetarians. Without the shrimp or feta, it’s ready for vegan friends. I covered the whole thing with foil and off he went! So make some for a picnic or a cookout and take it along, making sure to keep it refrigerated or on ice before, during, and after serving — because, well, shrimp. Changes: I was forced to make a basil dressing after the hail decimated my oregano. We liked it just as well. We also grilled the shrimp instead of cooking it in the pasta water. Might have liked that better. Here’s what it looked like in its to-go dish:
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE MY:
Chickpea-Artichoke Heart Salad
Pesto Bean Salad or It’s Too Hot to Cook
LIFE GOES ON:
Bear with me…. !!
Below: just in front of our house the other day
Here’s mama with one of her two babies:
below: Our local coyote mom (who has 6 pups) was after the bear cubs. Weird stuff. Babies must be hungry for her to chase bear. Usually plenty of mice and bunnies out there.
below: 2 of the coyote pups in our back garden
UPCOMING: We’ll be traveling again for a short while–cruising Boston to Québec City, boarding the train to Montreal, spending one night in a fave city and flying home from there. Home end of June til end of August, when we leave for a month to the Aleutian Islands and Hawaii. Yes, we are sooo lucky!
IN MEMORIAM: Michael John McClendon (1974-2025)
Our nephew Mike, my late brother Pete’s only child, crossed the river on June 6 after a short fight with an incredibly aggressive cancer. Too young.
