Salads are generally categorized as “health food,” which is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because the benefits of eating healthy food really goes unmatched. Food that is healthy — natural, unprocessed and packed with vitamins and nutrients — makes you feel lighter, happier and more energetic because your body is being fueled by foods that serve you instead of being weighed down by foods that don’t. The curse side is the stigma that comes with anything labeled as “health food:” it’s not considered particularly delicious, and certainly not as scrumptious as something cheesy, fried or caked in sugar.

The key to making a salad you want to eat is incorporating ingredients with flavors you love. For this recipe, I chose to use chicken and chickpeas seasoned with asian and indian spices plus asian greens, sweet carrots and peppery arugula.

Ginger chicken and curried chickpea salad

Chicken:
1lb Boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite-sized
pieces
1 tablespoon toasted
sesame oil
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Curried Chickpeas
1 29oz can of garbanzo
beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon toasted
sesame oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
flakes

Salad base:
2 cups chopped bok choy
leaves
2 cups arugula
2 cups napa cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced carrots

First, set your oven to 325 degrees. Next, take one 29oz can of chickpeas and thoroughly drain and rinse them in a colander, shaking out any excess water. Transfer the chickpeas to a large bowl. Add to the chickpeas your toasted sesame oil, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir the chickpeas with a rubber spatula, gently, until each chickpea is coated. Take a large, shallow baking pan and spread the chickpeas out onto a single layer. Roast the chickpeas for between 40 and 45 minutes. You want the outsides of the chickpeas to be crunchy, and the inside to be soft. Remove from the oven after they are finished cooking and set them aside.

Cut up 1lb of boneless chicken, and put the pieces in a medium-sized bowl. To the chicken add toasted sesame ground ginger, turmeric, cumin, garlic powder and salt. Stir the chicken and spices with a rubber spatula until the chicken pieces are well coated. Next, set a wok or a sauté pan on your stovetop to a high heat. Pour the chicken in the pan and sauté until the chicken has a rich color to it — you want to see just a little bit of brown. It should take about 6 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the heat and set it aside.

Next, take your chopped bok choy leaves, arugula and napa cabbage and put them in a large bowl. Add the carrots and shredded red cabbage, and give the whole salad base a quick mix.

Now that all the components are complete, you can arrange the salad. Take a heaping handful of greens and put them in a salad bowl. Sprinkle with some warm ginger chicken and a scoop or two of roasted chickpeas. This salad is delicious on its own, but is also quite scrumptious with a little ginger sesame salad dressing. Enjoy!

ALICIA BANE is Arts and Culture editor of The Times Record, and a food blogger. Find this recipe and more at eeshaeats.wordpress.com.