We’re thrilled to introduce a fresh cooking series: one ingredient, three ways. And we’re kicking it off with a gem: the powerful chickpea. It’s adaptable, it’s hearty, and it’s frequently finding its way out of the pantry, ready to morph into a fantastic stew, open-faced sandwich, or an impressive party dip. So, we turned to three culinary pals for their top methods to use them…
Hetty McKinnon, author of To Vegetables, With Love
“Chickpea dinners are my weekday staple — one of the simplest and most budget-friendly ways to swiftly get dinner on the table! I skip dried chickpeas midweek — canned ones suffice. I aim to pair them with a crunchy fresh vegetable and a vibrant dressing to keep the flavor lively. My go-to is this chili-crisp chickpea salad, boasting heat from the chili crisp (a rare pairing with chickpeas, which is part of its charm here!) and vinegar acidity. Fresh herbs round out the dish (use mint, parsley, or both!). I love enjoying this with flatbread; it travels well too, perfect for potlucks, picnics, etc.”
Chili Crisp Chickpea Salad
Serves 4
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp black or rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp chili crisp, or more to taste
2 Persian/Lebanese cucumbers (approx. 250g), trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and sliced
Handful chopped mint
Handful chopped parsley
2 cans chickpeas, drained (about 500g, drained weight)
Salt and pepper
In a large bowl, combine the red onion, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, and chili crisp. Toss together.
Then, add the cucumber, chickpeas, mint and/or parsley, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Greta Caruso & Fanny Singer, authors of The Green Spoon
“We are both lifelong, ardent fans of the modest chickpea, relishing it in every form: chana masala, hummus, socca — it’s all wonderful. But if forced to pick our absolute favorite chickpea dish, it would undoubtedly be Perfect Chickpeas — an all-time favorite and deservedly so: This recipe delivers tender chickpeas in an umami-rich, garlicky, Parmesan-laden broth. The procedure is easy and consistent, and it comes out perfect each time.
“We prepare these chickpeas for everyday meals and special occasions (they’re a crowd-pleaser for all ages), or batch-cook to stock the freezer for quick dinners. Serve with rice for a wholesome two-component meal, tuck into tortillas with cheese and guacamole for quick veggie tacos, or ladle over pasta for a swift play on pasta e fagioli. Whatever you do, make a large batch. You won’t be disappointed.”
Perfect Chickpeas
1 pound dried chickpeas
1 head garlic (or 10 cloves), minced
1 rind of a Parmesan or pecorino cheese wedge*
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Salt
Optional:
1 pinch smoked chili flakes
1 pinch fennel seeds
1 strip dried kombu seaweed
*Note: Don’t cut corners on the Parmesan rind! It’s the crucial umami element of this dish, and it must be included. After trying this once, you’ll likely start saving rinds in the freezer, but until then, you can slice the rind from the Parm wedge in your fridge.
Soak chickpeas overnight or at least eight hours. (Some claim it’s not essential, but we’re in the “if it ain’t broke” camp. Soaking has always worked for us, and we’ll keep doing it.) You can soak with a tiny bit of baking soda (no more than 1/8 tsp per pound), to speed up cooking later.
When you’re ready to cook, strain the chickpeas and rinse under cold water. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot. Set to low heat, add the garlic (and chili flakes, if desired). As the garlic sizzles and becomes aromatic (around 4-6 minutes), add chickpeas and immerse them in two inches of fresh water. Increase the heat to high, adding the cheese rind and bay leaves (also fennel seeds and kombu, if desired).
As the water boils vigorously, reduce to low heat and cover the pot. Now you can step away. Chickpeas need 1-2 hours to cook (older ones need more time than fresh). Check them after 30 minutes — you’ll sense how long they need to cook. They might remain hard or have some give. Check every 20 minutes. When beans are about two-thirds cooked — softened, yet firm — stir in 2 tbsp salt and proceed cooking (reduce or skip salt for babies — adults can season later).
You’ll know your chickpeas are cooked when they achieve a velvety texture with a very slight bite. It’s tempting to hurry when something’s cooked a while, but here, patience is a virtue. Give them an additional 15 to 20 minutes even if you think they’re ready. Undercooked beans aren’t just a textural letdown, they’re tougher to digest, introducing chaos of another kind.
Once the beans are fully done, switch off the heat and let them cool a bit. Hold off on tasting and salting until they’ve gone from piping hot to warm. (There’s a HIGH risk of over-salting when fresh from the burner, since you can’t properly assess salt levels.) When they’re nice and warm, season to taste, adding 1 to 3 more tablespoons of salt.
Store leftovers in a container, submerged in their liquid. They’ll stay good for a week refrigerated, or six months in the freezer.
Jenny Rosenstrach, author of Dinner: A Love Story
“Are you familiar with the charming children’s book by Margaret Wise Brown, The Important Book, where she lists traits of everyday objects before focusing on their most vital feature? [A spoon] is shaped like a small scoop to hold in your hand. It isn’t flat; it isn’t hollow, yet the essential aspect is that you consume with it. If Margaret Wise Brown described this meal, she might say: This dish is vegetarian. It’s extravagantly flavorful. It solely uses one pot. But the most important thing about this meal is its scrumptiousness. Personally, I’d say this is a cherished chickpea dish among friends and family spanning all ages.”
Curried Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Greens
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
dash of red pepper flakes to taste
3 tbsp curry powder (your favorite choice)
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 14-oz cans chickpeas, drained and dried as best as possible
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth, plus up to another 1/2 cup as needed
4-5 lacinato/Tuscan kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped*
1/4 cup coconut milk
*Note: feel free to use a cup of thawed frozen spinach, or peas!
Optional:
Cilantro and lime wedges for garnish
In a large skillet over medium-low heat, introduce olive oil, onions, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until slightly tender (approx. 4-5 minutes). Increase heat to medium, sprinkle in curry powder, smoked paprika, and toast the spices a little.
Add chickpeas, stirring to coat in curry powder. Cook around 5 minutes, until they appear slightly crisp. Taste-test them. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Mix in tomatoes and half of the broth, and let simmer about 10 more minutes, until everything is heated through. (Add more vegetable broth if it looks too thick.) Add kale and cook until it wilts. Stir coconut milk in.
Serve alone or with rice, garnished with cilantro and a splash of lime.
Huge gratitude to our contributors, Hetty, Greta, Fanny, and Jenny! Do you have a preferred way to cook with chickpeas? Any other staple ingredients you’d like to see in this series?
P.S. Wishing for more chickpeas? Here are crispy chickpeas with caesar dressing and the famed smashed chickpea sandwich from Smitten Kitchen.
(Chili-crisp salad image by Hetty McKinnon. Perfect chickpeas image by Greta Caruso. Curried chickpeas image by Jenny Rosenstrach.)
