Talk to me about chickpeas

ooolalalolo

I like chickpeas a lot when I get them in restaurants, so I decided to buy a jar of my very own. But now, said jar is sitting on the shelf. I regularly stare it down and consider various ways of using it, but so far, the score is Jar 20, lolo- 0. 

Can someone help me even the score? Tell me how you eat chickpeas, how you season them, your favorite way to prepare them, etc.

This is another one of those things that growing up in a Midwestern meat-potatoes-1 veg meals household never taught me. 

Shekels831

Love chickpeas in my salads and of course, making hummus!

Hummus is a cure all in Israel and really easy to make:

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternfood101/a/hummus101.htm

laptopprancer

They are awesome in salads with chopped boiled egg.

ooolalalolo

When you put them in salads, do you season/prepare them in any way? Or just drain and put them on top?

Shekels831

Drain 'em and pop them on top!

ebartzen

Ooh! I love chickpeas. My favorite is to make veggie burgers with 'em:

1 can chickpease (15 oz)

3 eggs

1 onion, chopped

1 lemon, zested

1 c. toasted bread crumbs

1 T. olive oil

 

Essentially just process everything (or just mash and mix if you don't have a processor). Then form into patties and fry 'em up! 

Otherwise, felafel or chickpea curry are both good.

ooolalalolo

Yum! Thank you for all the tips. Now I'll have to flip a coin to see what to do with my first jar...

laptopprancer

Drain them and rinse them.  It will get rid of a lot of the added sodium (found in many canned bean products) and sometimes chickpeas/garbanzos still have an outer cellulose-ey skin that will come off during the rinse.

But yeah and then just chuck them in.

They're also good in jambalaya-type rice/skillet dishes.

Bananas0827

I mash them with great northern beans and make veggie tacos. I season them as I would ground beef, add a little bit of flour so the beans go crumbly, and cook it to get rid of the raw flour taste. It makes me not miss the meat in traditional taco dishes.

 

NCV2

I often rinse and put them in a salad as LTP suggested.  

 

I accidently put them in crock-pot veggie chili, turned out well. 

elenetxu

I love love love broth with chickpeas and fideos which are like itty bitty inch long noodles.

stever

Hummus, in curry, in salads, in soups. Love Chickpeas!!!

Avion22

Homemade hummus!!!  There are tons of recipes out there, but basically rinse and drain, then add a tablespoon or so of lemon juice, about 1/4 cup of olive oil, a little bit of salt, and maybe a tablespoon of tahini (sesame paste...if you can't find it, peanut butter works great!).   You can also add roasted garlic, sliced roasted peppers, and any seasoning you want.  SO easy, and much cheaper than buying hummus.

 

 

GilliC

Chana Masala is one of my go-to emergency dishes, because if I use canned tomatoes, I can typically pull all the ingredients from the cupboard. Chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, and spices. And if you pick up a pre-mixed Chana Masala spice box from an Asian grocery, it's ridiculously simple (though I still tend to tweak the spices and up the garlic, cumin, and chili powder).

oneslybookworm

I have found chickpeas to be one of the small delights in life.  Seriously, I put them in nearly anything. 

Breakfast?  Toss them in some scrambled eggs with some cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic, and whatever else you got on hand. 

Lunch?  Toss on a salad, make hummous, falafel, or chickpea curry (tons of recipes online)

Dinner?  Chickpeas in a med. style couscous?  delicious!  Great with feta cheese, greek olives, couscous, EVOO, red wine vinegar, some fresh basil, sundried tomatoes...le sigh. 

I love chickpeas.  Here are more recipes!

Nanner

I like to roast them.  It makes a great snack.

Rinse them and get the little skins off of them. Dry well, toss with some olive oil, salt, garlic, and any other spices you might like, spread on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven at 450 (230 C) for 30-40 minutes. If they're still a little soft in the middle when they come out, roast a little longer.

Publius

I love curried chickpeas.

I also love just rinsing them off and eating them plain.

Sometimes I'll mix chickpeas with halved cheery tomatoes, pieces of sweet peppers, olive oil, and pepper spices.  Then I throw the whole thing in the oven on like 425 for 15 minutes.  Yum.