Chickpea Coconut Pesto Salad

Salad:

2 Tbs olive oil
3 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tsp ground cumin

Pesto:

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbs lime juice
1 clove garlic
1 small jalapeño
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

1)  In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and cumin, roasting the cumin until fragrant. Add the chickpeas. Sauté for two minutes, until the chickpeas are heated throughout.
2)  Meanwhile, add all the pesto ingredients to a food processor and pulse until fully combined.
3)  Toss chickpeas with pesto. Allow the salad to marinate for fifteen to twenty minutes. Salad can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.

Review:  I love, and miss, pesto. It's hard to find a suitable substitute for cheese. I've largely depended on substituting nuts, but it's not the same. When I found this recipe that used coconut instead, I was so intrigued. It seemed like a small side dish recipe, but very flavorful. I doubled the recipe and found I didn't need to do so as this dish is incredibly filling. It's also a really great flavor. It's savory, without being sweet (due to the coconut) or spicy (due to the jalapeño). It's also chewy due to the coconut, so it has a more rewarding mouth feel than one would expect. I'm very happy with this dish.

Adapted from:
http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201806/?pg=71&pm=2&u1=friend