Chickpea Cocktail – A Very Vegan Christmas

My favourite part of Christmas dinner was always the prawn cocktail we would have as a starter, so I wanted to try and amke an alternative to this.  I know there are vegan prawn and shrimp alternatives out there, but as far as I’m aware these haven’t made it to Ireland – if they have, tell me where!  Anyways here’s a quick and easy starter that you could make on Christmas day.  It’s not super healthy but it is super yummy and will make a great addition to your Christmas dinner!

You will need:

• 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 little gem lettuce, washed and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cucumber, washed and diced
• 8 cherry tomatoes, or 2 normal ones, diced
• 1 can of chickpeas, thoroughly rinsed and drained
• 8 tbsp vegan mayo
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• salt and pepper to taste
• seaweed flakes
• paprika

How to make it:

Start by preparing the salad veg and arranging it in glasses, or on plates – however you’d like to serve it.  For as along as I can remember, we always served ours in glasses, just ’cause it looks fancy!  

Next, mix the mayo and ketchup in to the chickpeas, add salt and pepper to taste and about a tbsp of the seaweed flakes.  Mix well.  The seaweed is used here to add a bit of a fish or sea taste as this would traditionally be made with prawns.  You can add more seaweed if you want it to taste a bit “fishier”

Plate it up!  Top off the salads with the chickpea mix, sprinkle with a bit of pepper and paprika and serve to your guests!  A slice of lemon on the side would add a bit more authenticity to the dish, but I didn’t have any to hand so lets just pretend there’s one there!  

So that’s starter 1 of week 1 of a Very Vegan Christmas!  See you on Wednesday for this week’s main!

Let me know if you try this recipe by commenting down below and tagging me on Instagram!  If you have any suggestions on ways you improved this recipe or your own little additions, please share!  Also feel free to share/pin this recipe on Pinterest!