Doris and Jilly Cook » chickpeas

Homemade Hummus = (almost) Free Food

dorisgoat — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:04:11 +0000

Commercial hummus makes me crazy. It’s expensive, chalky, and usually tastes of neither tahini nor chickpeas. So, I make my own. You can too, for about a third of the price of prepared hummus.

Basic Homemade Hummus

1 1/2 c. dried chickpeas (about $0.70 if you buy in bulk)
3 T or so tahini, to taste (about $0.25, depending on the brand of your tahini)
1 lemon (let’s say the lemons are 3/$1)
1 clove garlic (a generous $0.10?)
salt
small handful of parsley, chopped (hard to say: $0.25?)
smidgen of olive oil (depends on whether you have champagne tastes. Let’s say $0.10)

1) Cook the chickpeas in the pressure cooker: about 12 minutes at 15 pounds pressure, if pre-soaked; 15 minutes if not. (For a refresher on using the pressure cooker, click here.)

2) Drain the chickpeas, keeping some of the liquid to thin the hummus.

3) Combine the chickpeas, garlic, tahini, and maybe 3 T of water in a food processor. It should look pretty close to hummus. Add some lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, then taste it and adjust the flavors accordingly. It’s nice to serve it with a little bit more olive oil and paprika (or better: smoked paprika).

You’ll end up with about 3 cups, or 24 ozs., for about $1.73, or about 7 cents an ounce. The best storebought version that I’ve found (outside of Lebanese restaurants, of course!) is Whole Foods’ version, currently on sale for $3.49 for 13 oz., or 28 cents an ounce.

So think about it, no?

Fresh Chickpea Salad

dorisandjilly — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:05:52 +0000

We know you’ve been on pins and needles wondering just what exactly we did with those fresh chickpeas. Today we bring you the answer.

Jilly was in town for this experiment, and I must confess that we were both a bit stumped by the chickpeas. Raw, they sort of tasted like regular peas, only milder, or like a regular chickpea that had soaked overnight. On the theory that they were vaguely pea-like, we first blanched them, then just tossed them with some regular salad ingredients and a citrus vinaigrette. Lemon juice would have made more sense, but as I had neglected to go lemon shopping and all of mine were disconcertingly mushy, we used orange juice instead. The final result was neither stunning nor disappointing, but the psychadelic colors made it all worthwhile.

For the vinaigrette:

Use any sort of basic citris vinaigrette:
juice of 1 lemon, or an orange, or probably lime (try it and see!)
3 T olive oil
salt
pepper

For the salad:

a handful of fresh chickpeas, shelled
1/4 small red cabbage, thinly sliced
handful fresh herbs: parsley or basil and/or tarragon or some other combo
1/4 red onion, finely chopped

Toss everything together and add more salt to taste. Let it marinate for at least half an hour before eating. Best served at room temperature.

Chickpea Stew

dorisgoat — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:48:21 +0000

This chickpea stew—vaguely based on a similar one I had in Spain—has become a staple in our house. (I promise an update on those fresh chickpeas soon, but first, a stew to go with the rainy, dreary weather.) It’s cheap, flavorful, and, if you make it in the pressure cooker, surprisingly fast. It’s definitely intended to be a kitchen pantry kind of dish, so substitute/add other ingredients as you see fit.

Chickpea and Spinach Stew (in the pressure cooker)

(All amounts are approximate.)

1 1/2 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (if using canned or previously cooked, you’ll need 2–3 cups)
2 T or so olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4–6 cloves garlic, cut into hunks
2 T paprika (or less of a more flavorful smoked Spanish paprika)
salt
about 1 c. of chopped parsley, divided into two
10 whole peppercorns
1/2 t. dried thyme, or 1 T fresh
red pepper flakes, to taste
1 pt jar canned tomatoes and their juice (if using store-bought, use 15 oz)
6 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1–2 bunches spinach, to taste
1/2 a preserved lemon, or to taste, chopped

1) Using your pressure cooker as a cooking pot, start sauteing the onion in the oil. Meanwhile, grind the garlic, salt, half the parsley, and the paprika into a paste in a mortar and pestle, like this:

If you’ve never done this before, here’s a tip: start by putting the salt on the garlic. It creates additional grit to help break down the garlic.

2) Stir the paste, peppercorns, pepper flakes, and thyme into the onions. Cook one minute. (If you’re adding additional vegetables, like carrots or celery, you should add them now, too.)

3) Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock. Screw on the lid, lock it, and bring the pressure cooker up to pressure. Cook for 12 minutes at pressure. (For a refresher on pressure cooker basics, see this post.) Let the pressure drop of its own accord.

4) Are the chickpeas done? If not, bring it up to pressure again and cook for a couple of minutes more. Otherwise go on to the next step.

5) Add the spinach, torn into pieces as big or as small as you like them. Cook until it’s wilted. If there’s too much liquid and you don’t mind limp spinach, cook more; if it’s on the dry side, add more stock.

6) Freshen it up with the preserved lemon and the parsley and serve.

Mystery Produce: Fresh Chickpeas

dorisandjilly — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:48:56 +0000

As part of Jilly’s visit to Philadelphia, we made our regular circuit of key South Philly institutions: La Lupe, Chickie’s, Di Bruno’s, and, of course, the Italian Market. Both of us got excited when we saw what we thought was a bin of fresh fava beans. We envisioned a fruity, lemony salad, maybe with some chopped red onion and garlic and salt. Imagine our surprise when we opened one up to see that it contained a fresh chickpea instead. They sort of taste like fresh peas. We’re thinking we’re going to make the same salad, but with the chickpeas instead. Anybody else know what to do with them?

(Photo uploaded to flickr.com by amolson1)

Chickpea Soup

dorisgoat — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:18:47 +0000

This soup is not unlike a liquid hummus. Depending on your preferences and what you have on hand, you can make it vegan or with chicken stock; with or without parsley; and lumpy or smooth. I use the pressure cooker both because the texture of the “sauce” in canned beans creeps me out and because I find the cheap prices of dried beans mesmerizing. If you’re not bothered by texture or cost, by all means try it with canned chickpeas.

This recipe is loosely adapted from a book of mostly soups called The Good Food that I cannot find referenced anywhere online. My version uses less oil, less rosemary, more garlic, less salt, paprika, no bay leaf, and a pressure cooker.

Chickpea Soup (Pressure Cooker)

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T rosemary
a bit of salt
2 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock or water
1 pt. canned tomatoes in water (I guess a 15 oz. can if using commercial?)
paprika

1) Saute the onion in the oil directly in the pressure cooker. Add the garlic, salt, and rosemary, and cook a little longer.

2) Add the chickpeas, stock, and tomatoes.

3) Close and lock the lid. Cook at 15 lbs of pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure drop of its own accord. (Pressure cooker 101 is here.)

4) Puree until smooth (or at least as smooth as you want it) in a blender. Swirl with paprika.

Non-Pressure Cooker Version

Somehow get yourself 3 cups or so of cooked chickpeas. Do steps 1 and 2, then bring to a boil in a big pan. You might need to add another 2 cups of water or so. Simmer for about half an hour, then puree.