Chickpeas anyone?

I use chickpeas a lot, yes I make a lot of homous, but I do also use a lot of chickpeas in tact in other dishes so I thought I’d share a few recent chickpea dishes..

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, chana, gram or cece, have lots of great health benefits, and provide a decent shot of protein for us vegetarians. They are so good for dips because they become so smooth when blended, whereas I find that some other beans can be quite grainy. They also take on flavours really well; their consistency means that flavours can infuse into them and this is what I really like. 

I buy chickpeas, already cooked, in jars, as opposed to cans, and I think the quality is better. On occasion I soak and cook my own chickpeas from dried, but for ease, jars are my choice. I currently have 4 different makes of jarred versions, from tiny organic chickpeas, to big fat Spanish chickpeas – I can tell you from experience that these big garbanzo beans do NOT make good homous, they’re too grainy to be used in a dip, but great in salads and cooked dishes. 

So here’s a few recent ideas, there’s more elsewhere on by blog too..

These chickpeas have been drained and washed and dried, and are being cooked in a pan over a medium heat in coconut oil, and then I added my rose harissa spice mix..

I ate them warm, whilst they had a bit of crunch, on a bed of tahini sauce..So good!!!

The leftovers adorned some homous the next day.

I love to marinate chickpeas in herbs and spices and dressings, as those have been below; the inclusion of an acid in the mix – lemon juice or a vinegar – helps to cut into the chickpeas, just like marinating meat or fish. And just like marinating meat or fish, the longer you can leave the chickpeas before you eat them, the more the flavours develop.

Chermoula, or a version of it, is one of my favourite ways to enchanted chickpeas..chermoula is a North African sauce, typically made of chopped coriander and parsley, garlic, ground cumin, sweet paprika, salt, olive oil and lemon juice; some people include chopped onion, some people include some cayenne or chilli of some sort. 

On this occasion, the chermoula chickpeas are served with a pea dip and a romesco inspired salad.

And again below, chickpeas in a freshly made chermoula pimped with saffron, but this could just as easily be a salsa or chimichurri sauce.

These chickpeas often end up being blended into a dip with some tahini in my kitchen 🙂

I mixed these chickpeas with some leftover oven baked caramelised onions and garlic – heavenly!! 

Whereas for these chickpeas below, I cooked chopped red onions over a medium heat in coconut oil, with added crushed garlic, and some rose harissa..

Lovely with a coriander, garlic and yoghurt dip, and my recent roasted red pepper sauce creation. 

I often add chickpeas to my many and various versions of shashuka..

And of course, there’s my most favourite marinated chickpea dish..

I hope you like some of my chickpea dishes..I’m taking them along to Fiesta Friday and hope this week’s partygoers enjoy them 🙂 

In the meantime, I’ll be marinating some more chickpeas for another concoction…x