I am crazy about chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans). Especially BAKED chickpeas. And also especially, blended into hummus. Oh, and especially in a curry dish. I think you can get a sense of my especially strong devotion.
My adoration for this scrumptious and completely nutritious food is so strong that this blog post practically wrote itself. So here we go, ideas and a recipe to inspire you to add these cute little guys to your pantry – and your diet.
Raw, dry on left. Soaked overnight on right.
I like to cook my own chickpeas. They taste better, they’re less expensive, and because they’re not canned, there’s no worry about BPA Are Plastic Bottles and Containers Safe (overview of BPA). It’s simple to cook your own, you just need a couple of tricks to streamline the process.
I buy dried chickpeas from a local Mediterranean market. They’re prepackaged in large sizes and are extremely inexpensive. I typically purchase a 5# bag, which after cooking yields 21 quart freezer bags (holding 2 cups each) of cooked chickpeas! There’s no need to cook the entire bag at once, I just need to be efficient with my time, so cooking all 5#’s worked for me.
Chickpeas must be soaked about 8 hours before they’re cooked. An easy way to do that is to soak them overnight, say, on a Saturday – leaving you a leisurely Sunday to actually cook them. Dump the dried beans into a large stock pot, cover them by about 2 inches with cold water, and head off to bed. The work happens while you sleep! As you can see in the photo above, there’s a dramatic difference in size between dried and soaked beans. Next morning, drain and rinse the soaked beans, and pick out any that are discolored. If you can’t cook the beans right away, cover and store in the refrigerator – I’ve left them for up to 3 days.
Place the beans back into the stock pot and again, cover with about 2 inches of cold water. Add a 3″ piece of kombu (optional). Kombu is a type of seaweed that imparts minerals, nutrients and flavor, and helps soften the beans. It also aids in making the beans easier to digest.
Kombu
Bring the beans to a boil, then turn down the heat and place the lid on top, slightly ajar. Take a peek periodically to be sure the water hasn’t reduced too much (add more if needed). After ~ 1 hour, check the beans; they should be soft and practically creamy inside. Once they’ve reached that point, drain them, and pour onto a jelly roll pan to cool (the 1 inch sides prevent the beans from escaping).
Cooling chickpeas.
Once they’ve cooled completely, it’s time to prepare them for storage. Scoop two cups into a 1 quart freezer bag, label, and store in the freezer. That’s it!
Bagged chickpeas (and black beans!)
When it comes to using them in cooking, there’s no need to thaw the beans for dishes like soups or casseroles – just add them in. However, if you need to QUICKLY thaw for a salad, run the bag under warm water until it pulls away cleanly from the beans, use scissors to cut the bag open, and place the frozen chickpeas in a glass bowl (NEVER microwave in a plastic bag or container). Put them in the microwave for a short time using the “defrost” option, and check to see when they’ve thawed and are ready to use (all microwaves cook and defrost at different speeds).
Now that you’ve learned a couple of secrets for cooking chickpeas, here’s a fabulous recipe for enjoying them!
ROASTED CHICKPEAS
2 cups chickpeas
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl. Toss with the olive oil, cumin and salt. Transfer the seasoned chickpeas to a baking sheet in a single layer. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until golden, about 35 minutes, tossing from time to time to keep from burning.
3. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the chickpeas to cool. Store in a sealed glass container for up to one week (if they last that long!).
** Feel free to vary the seasoning according to individual preference; curry powder, garam masala, garlic powder, etc.