Vegan Better-Than-Tuna Salad

Recently, I was wistful for a tuna sandwich, not that I would eat one, but it's natural to miss something you used to eat without thinking about it.  Then I remembered that my friend Piliki tried a recipe similar to this when she first went vegan, and she liked it.  A lot of what we miss is that hit of protein, and in this case, that texture.  By pulsing chickpeas lightly in the food processor, you get that flaky texture of canned tuna.  And somehow, to my surprise, the end result actually tastes like tuna (without the fishy smell).  Not exactly, but pretty close, and it's delicious to boot.  I found this video of Colleen Patrick Goudreau making this recipe from the Compassionate Cooks web site, and from one of her cookbooks, The Vegan Table.  I halved the recipe because Lars and I only want 3 or 4 sandwiches out of any given recipe.  In addition to the links above, I've also re-written the recipe for you here below, in its halved form, and made a few notes too.  For one thing, the recipe on the TV site says you could use Nayonnaise, which I do not like the taste of.  I also like a little more mayo than the recipe called for.  The original recipe says it yields 4 to 6 servings, but for us, this halved recipe below will yield that much.  An added bonus is that this recipe will make you feel good.  Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) have all 9 of the essential amino acids, are packed with protein and fiber.  And Colleen's brilliant move of adding the raw walnuts (which you can't really taste) supplies the Omega 3 Fatty Acids.  Your God Pod will thank you.  Yes, I really am quoting Kris Carr now.
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Better-Than-Tuna Salad from The Vegan Table cookbook

Half recipe shown here, yields 4 to six normal servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ C Vegenaise (eggless mayonnaise)
½ medium-sized red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1 carrot, grated fine (or pulsed to a grated consistency)
½ celery stalk, minced fine (or pulsed to a grated consistency)
½ C raw walnuts, chopped fine (or pulsed in food processor)
1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dulce granules (seaweed flakes) (optional, for that faint fish flavor)
optional:  a Tablespoon or two of finely chopped onion
optional:  a Tablespoon or two of sweet relish (I like this)

DIRECTIONS
Rinse and drain chickpeas well.
Here, if you want to, you can pulse the carrot, celery and walnuts in the food processor, until fine.
Empty food processor and then process the chickpeas until they are a somewhat-fine flaky consistency. Do not over-process, or you’ll get hummus. The flakiness of the chickpeas resembles tuna in texture, which is important for this recipe.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir carrot/celery/walnut mixture with mustard, and mayo and seasonings.
Add flaked chickpeas and stir again to mix all well.
Chill until ready to serve.

Notes: Please note that this recipe (as you see it here) is halved.  A scoop of this would be good sitting in the middle of a green salad, or you could make vegan tuna melts with Daiya cheese, or stuff it into pita pockets, etc.  In future, I'll probably experiment a bit and add a tablespoon of sweet relish, because I used to always add some to my tuna salad. I’m sorry fishies, for eating you before.   If you click on this link, and scroll down, you can see environmental reasons for not eating fish.