Vegetarian Mock Lobstah' Rolls ~ Meatless Monday

Mock Lobstah' Roll ~ A fun vegetarian spin using chickpeas as the base for the classic New England seaside salad!  

Way, way back when, I used to live a few towns south of Boston.  I was about equal distance to Boston, Cape Cod and Providence, RI.  Fantastic seafood in every direction!   I would often go to Cape Cod (aka ~ The Cape) for a bike ride along the Cape Cod Canal Bikeway and then head over to one of the many seafood shacks to enjoy a traditional Lobster Roll.  Man, were they good!!  Since I've been tinkering with chickpea salads again, I decided to give my go-to bean the royal treatment and turn them into one of my favorite seafood salads, one that is often served quite simply, usually in a basic hot dog bun ~ the classic Lobster Roll.  I'm calling my vegetarian version a ~ Mock Lobstah' Roll.  (is it just me, or do you hear the B52's song Rock Lobster in your head when you read that? teehee)

For a little special taste treat, I like using dulse flakes in my mock seafood salads since I think it gives a nice, slightly salty, hint of seaside flavor that reminds me of the ocean.  You could easily replace it with your favorite dried seaweed flakes or skip it altogether if you like ~ it'll just change the overall flavor of the salad a little bit.  I like to go a bit heavier than 1/8 tsp on the dulse flakes, more along the 1/4+ tsp lines.  I'm like that ~ in for a penny, in for a pound.  I also like the subtle sweetness the sweet corn and pinch of sugar gives to the salad.  I'm trying to mimic the unmistakeably soft sweet flavor that real lobster chunks have.   :)  Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mock Lobstah' Rolls
makes 2 Lobstah' Rolls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) ~ drained & slightly smashed
• 2 Tbsp low fat mayo (I only use Hellmann's/Best Foods mayo)
• 2 Tbsp diced celery
• 2 1/2 Tbsps drained canned white sweet corn (or sweet yellow, if you like)
• 1/4 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp Old Bay Seasoning, or more to taste
• 1/8 tsp dulse flakes, or more to taste (or your favorite seaweed ~ optional)
• pinch of sugar (optional)
• dash of hot sauce
• dash dill weed
• dash paprika
• salt & pepper, to taste

• 2 basic/cheap hot dog buns
• crisp, fluffy leaf lettuce
• tomato slices, optional ~ (If you were to eat a real lobster roll, you'd probably skip the tomatoes, but, since this is a mock lobster salad, I'd have at it :)

Directions
Mix first 13 ingredients (chickpeas through salt/pepper) in a medium bowl until combined.  Line each hot dog bun with crisp, fluffy lettuce leaves and couple of tomato slices (if using).  Divide the Mock Lobstah' Salad between the two buns and enjoy your Meatless Monday lunch!

 For another mock vegetarian seafood sandwich filling, check out my recipe for ~ Mock Tuna Salad ~ HERE.