Vegetarian Not-Tuna Salad

This not-tuna salad recipe is delicious, easy, and fast.  My husband, a big fan of seafood, was surprised at how much it tasted like real tuna.  My vegetarian friend gave me funny looks as he ate his not-tuna sandwich; he was still trying to decide if I was telling the truth about it being vegetarian or if I had tricked him into eating fish.

The fishy taste comes from the nori, which is the same seaweed used in sushi.  Seaweed is high in vitamin B, and even contains vitamin B-12.  So eat up.  And nori never goes bad, so don't be afraid to save some money per sheet and buy the larger pack.

It's easy to make this salad vegan--just use vegan mayonnaise.

If you're looking for something a little less spicy, you could replace the canned jalapeño with with a dill pickle or dill pickle relish.  I've just never seen a dill pickle in Mexico.  Wait, that's not true.  I saw one once: it was floating in a jar of pickled chile peppers.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 spring onion, chopped (white and green parts)
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 rajas (strips) canned jalapeños (equivalent to half a jalapeño), minced
• 1/2 sheet nori, shredded
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (vegans, use vegan version)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

1. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl.  Mash them with a potato masher, or smash them with the bottom of a glass cup.  You want the mashed chickpeas to be chunky; you're not making hummus.  
2. Fold in remaining ingredients.
3. This recipe is light on the mayonnaise.  Add more if desired.
4. Serve with lettuce and sliced tomatoes on bread.