What The Heck IS a CHICKpea? I know...garbanzo bean. HOW DO YOU SUGGEST I COOK THESE?

Question

Yes, I live in a box. Never had these but would like to try them, or sneak them into recipes we normally eat. Any ideas would be great. I do not want to try Indian or Mediterranean recipes though- thanks!

Answer 1

I am assuming you are not eliminating Italian food when you eliminate Indian or Mediterranean...although Indian & Meditteranean are both wonderful~~ but here are several Italian recipes that use chickpeas. More can be found on the website in the "sources" list.

Minestrone is my favorite kind of Italian soup, and there are several variations of which, some of which use chickpeas.

hickpea Minestrone, or Minestrone di Ceci: Minestrone comes in all sorts of varieties. This one is Sardinian, and is made with chickpeas. The recipe will serve 6, and calls for:
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound (500 g) chickpeas
* 8 ounces (200 g) ditalini or other small tubular pasta
* 1/2 pound (200 g) tomato pulp (blanch, peel, seed, drain and chop the tomatoes), or 4 dried tomatoes
* 2 small cardoons, diced
* A head of Belgian Endive
* 1/2 a celery rib, chopped
* A carrot, sliced
* An onion, diced
* Pork bones or rinds (you'll want them unseasoned, from your butcher)
* Olive oil to taste
* Salt

PREPARATION:
Soak the chickpeas for at least 24 hours, or more if you have the time. Rinse them well, picking through them to remove stray stones, rub them between your fingers to eliminate seed skins, and set them to cook in 2 quarts of water, with the tomatoes, cardoons, endive, celery, carrot, onion, and pork bones or rind.

Cover and simmer over a low flame for at leas two hours. When the chickpeas have become soft, uncover the pot, stir in the pasta, and cook until it is done, stirring occasionally lest the pasta stick down. Let the soup rest for a few minutes, and serve it with a cruet of good olive oil for your diners to drizzle over their soup.

Variations:
You can add cauliflower or cabbage, and, if you want to enrich the flavor, you can sauté the herbs (carrot, celery and onion) in a couple ounces of mashed cured lard (you'll have to get this from your delicatessen) before you add them to the soup. Finally, if you prefer, rather than include pasta you can serve the soup over slices of toasted bread.


"Pasta e Ceci"
One normally thinks of pasta with beans -- pasta e fagioli or pasta fagiul -- and almost every Italian town has a recipe. One doesn't hear about pasta and chic kpeas anywhere near as often, though the combination will work just as well. This recipe is from the Marche, where it was tradition to make a batch on the day the fields were sown with grain, in the hopes that the harvest would bring wheat the size of the chick peas.
To serve 4 you'll need:
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) chick peas
* 1 pound (400 g) short ribbed pasta, for example ditalini
* 2 ribs celery
* 2 carrots
* 2 onions
* 4 cloves garlic
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
* 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
* Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
Begin the night before by setting the chick peas to soak in abundant water. The next day drain them rinse them, and return them to the pot with abundant water to cover, and the vegetables and herbs. Salt lightly and bring the pot to a boil, then let it bubble for 45 minutes.
At this point remove and discard the vegetables, which will have surrendered their essences, blend a third of the chick peas, and return them to the pot. While the soup is cooking bring a second pot of water to a boil, salt it, and cook the pasta until it's just shy of being done. Drain it, stir it into the chick peas, boil everything for a minute more, stirring gently, check seasoning, and serve, with olive oil at the table for people to drizzle over their soup. The wine? A light red, for example a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, or a white.

Hope this is a good start! :D I think you could also just stick them into your regular stews and soups too.

Answer 2

This recipe is easy. You could have it with burgers or something. You could also try them in chili. I think they would be fine that way.

Marinated Chickpea Salad

Answer 3

Classic Hummous

Ingredients
·One (19 oz.) can cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed OR 2 cups cooked chickpeas
·1 tbsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)
·1 tbsp. lemon juice, about half a lemon
·1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
·1-2 tbsp. water, to thin, if necessary

Instructions:
1.You can use either a hand blender or food processor to make this hummous. If using a hand blender, you'll need at least a two cup capacity cup. Either way, add about half the chickpeas and start to blend.
2.Gradually add in the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, but not the water.
3.Keep blending until the volume reduces slightly and the texture becomes more smooth, then add the rest of the chickpeas.
4.Blend until desired consistency is reached - chunkier is good for sandwiches, while a thinny dip may be desired for pita chips.
5.Add 1-2 tbsp. water if necessary while blending.
6.Stir in any additions, garnish, and serve!

Chickpeas A'la King

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup red bell pepper -- chopped
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme -- crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups rice milk -- or low-fat soymilk or other non-dairy milk
1 1/2 cups chickpeas -- 1-15oz can, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup scallions -- finely chopped

1. Sauté the mushrooms & bell peppers in water or veggie broth (original recipe called for oil) for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly so they don't stick or brown. Stir in the flour, then add nutritional yeast and spices and continue cooking & stirring for another minute.
2. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the milk, mixing constantly to avoid lumps.
3. Return to heat to continue cooking. Stir constantly until thickened, then add chickpeas & scallions and continue cooking another 3-5 minutes or until the chickpeas are thoroughly warmed.
4. Serve at once over biscuits, rice, noodles or toast points. *See note.
Serving Size : 4

Description:
"Use chickpeas, not chicken in this old fashioned entrée. You're bound to get compliments that will make you crow. Serve it over rice, toasted bread triangles, or split biscuits. –
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/beans/chickp...

Chickpea Sweet Balls Recipe

Sweet, Spiced Balls of Chickpea Flour

Mix together in a large saucepan:
2 1/2 cups chickpea flour*
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3-1/2 cup ghee
powdered almond (opt.)

Sauté over low heat, stirring frequently, for 20-25 minutes until softened to the consistency of peanut butter and slightly browned.

Take off the heat and cool for about 5 minutes, then add:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Mix well. Let cool for as long as possible, at least 30-60 minutes. The balls are easier to form when the ingredients are room temperature. Make into 1" balls by squeezing about 1 heaping teaspoon of dough back and forth from one hand to another. Continue this process until each ball is firm and shiny. The mixture will be crumbly at first, and it takes a number of passes between your hands for the ball to form. If you are finding the mixture too crumbly, be sure you have let it cool enough. Some people find using a melon baller helps the process. As a last resort, add a little more melted ghee.
*or equal parts uncooked cream of wheat and all-purpose white flour
http://www.ivcooking.com/p269_12.php%22%...

Falafel (Fried chickpea balls)

Soak some dried chickpeas overnight (NEVER used tinned unless you like sludge at the bottom of your fryer).
Drain and grind up in a processor or robust blender until about the consistency of breadcrumbs.
Mix in finely chopped onion and garlic. Add roasted ground cumin and coriander (seed), salt & pepper to taste.
Roll into small patties. Deep fry in hot oil for a few minutes until golden brown.
EAT!

Falafel

3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup minced parsley
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp. each basil, coriander, thyme
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
Black pepper to taste
2 slices French bread, torn, and soaked in water
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
4 pita bread rounds
Lettuce, sliced, cucumbers, and tomato for garnish

Blend garlic and parsley in a food processor until finely minced. Add chickpeas, and process until pasty. Add lemon, cumin, basil, coriander, thyme, hot pepper sauce, and black pepper. Squeeze water out of the bread and add.

Process until well mixed. Form mixture into 16 balls. Flatten each ball into 1/2 inch thick patties. Place patties on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes. Turn patties, bake another 10 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat. Add patties, fry until golden brown. Turn patties over, add remaining oil. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Cut pita round in half, and open. Add two patties, and garnish. Top with a sauce or mayo.
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/fala...

Chickpea Pancakes

Ingredients (get from Indian grocery store)
1 Cup Besan (Chickpea Flour)
1 Carrot Grated
1 Green Chili: Finely Chopped
1/2 Medium Onion Finely Chopped
Fresh Coriander: Finely Chopped
3 inches bottle gourd grated
Water to add
Salt and Red Chilies to taste.
Oil to fry

Method:
add all the ingredients together except water.
Add water slowly and make the batter to a consistency of soup. / crepes batter.
Beat the batter for 2 mins with hand.
Heat a griddle.
Put 1 tsp oil over it and spread it. Then lightly remove the excess oil by wiping with a towel.
Put one big ladle of batter and spread it on griddle.
The heat should be medium so that it doesn't burn.
put 1 tsp oil on the corners of the pancake.
Once it gets browned from one side turn it over and cook from the other side.
Put one more tsp of oil.
Once brown spots appear take it off from the griddle.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup or tomato salsa/ hot sauce or coriander chutney.

Walrus Bread (Gluten Free)

Serving Size: 1

1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
3 tsp. Xanthum gum
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP. sugar
1 TBSP. dry yeast -- (Red Star)
2 eggs
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 1/3 cup hot water

Mix first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
No need to sift if you don't want to).
In another bowl mix eggs, oil, vinegar and water.
Mix liquid into dry ingredients.
Spoon into bread machine. Set on light or medium setting. Bake.
This will make 1 1/2 lb. of bread.
The person that I got the recipe from makes hers' on the medium setting.
She tried the light but preferred the medium. That's what I tasted and it was good!
http://www.bread-bakers.com/archives/rec...