Asparagus and Chickpeas with Mint and Truffle Oil

This is a flavorful and very-easy-to-make salad. This recipe is my own but I am sure I am reinventing the wheel here; somebody must have tried this before, because it is obvious to me: It is all about brightening up some beautiful earthy flavors with herb and citrus.

Raw chickpeas are kids' delicacy during summer time in my hometown. Weird, no? They are sold on freshly rooted plants. Do you know that you need to shell chickpeas to get the chickpeas? You don't need to season or process them, just shell and enjoy...Don't panic, we don't need to be that sophisticated for that recipe. Just buy a can of chickpeas at the market that is closest to you; the brand does not matter at all, because it is really difficult to mess up with chickpeas however incompetent the manufacturer is... As Benjamin Franklin once said for beer, chickpea "is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy", such robust honest impossible-to-fail delicacy...

Chickpeas have a beautiful earthy and fulfilling taste. Match it with asparagus and green onions; highlight the earthiness further with truffle oil; then cheer up the flavors with lemon juice and mint. Salt and pepper and chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano. This all takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and serve.

Recipes are always given for a serving of 4, 6, 8 ,10 even 12. Nobody gives a recipe for two. I have spent all my life dividing the measures by 2, 3 or 4. Here is my own recipe for two... dos, to be exact, iki, du. Hell yeah, let 'em do some multiplication...

For a serving of two:

Half of a 15oz can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (about 8 tbs, topped)

about 8 asparagus stalks, ends peeled

10-15 fresh mint leaves, sliced in thin strips

half of a young tender green onion, finely sliced, both white and green parts are OK, about 1 tbs, leveled

1 tbs regular extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs fruttato olive oil

1.5-2tbs lemon juice

About 1/2-1 ts truffle oil

chunks of parmesan reggiano

salt&pepper to taste

Peel the asparagus at the tough ends, cut them into four pieces. Bring water to a heavy boil in a sauce pan, salt heavily, add the asparagus, boil for about 3-4 minutes; time may vary depending on the freshness of your asparagus, just keep it on the crunchy side otherwise it will not be able to compete with the texture of chickpeas. Drain and stop cooking under running cold tap water for about 30 seconds. Grab a bowl and mix everything but the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chunks of parmesan. I have realized that there are exactly 10 items listed above. Yet this is not the list of ten commandments. It is all about finding the right flavors for your palate. May be it is a little bit more lemon juice for you and a little less truffle oil and it is no sin. But this is a sinful salad, watch out...