new recipe challenge: carrot and chickpea salad

Tender carrots, crisp chickpeas, nutty sauce: what's not to love? This salad, from my favorite food blog Smitten Kitchen, would brighten up a cold winter day. It's also a fitting counterpoint to delicate Spring asparagus (which we're eating every day, every which way). Last night, I made a simple pasta with frozen snap peas, fresh roasted asparagus, and a Greek yogurt-lemon-Parmesan sauce. This salad added a hearty dose of protein and color to the meal. I omitted the pistachios and parsley from the original carrot salad recipe, working with ingredients I had on hand. Neither Gregg or I could decide whether we liked the pasta or salad better, a positive sign that both dishes are keepers. The lemon in both dishes helps create a cohesive meal, and the bright citrus tang cuts through the creaminess of both sauces.