Garbanzo Beans

[nessa]

Smoked Turkey Stock is my latest secret weapon. I'm addicted.

I want the recipe for moughrabbia !!! What is it?

[Behemoth]

There is a recipe I got from Epicurious but their site is down now so I'll give you the gist. They call Moroccan Chickpea Soup and their directions are complicated, needing to start with dried chickpeas. I cheat and used them canned and can put this soup together in less than five minutes

It sounds a bit like Harira, the soup you have for ramadan in Morocco. I forgot about that one, that is good. (I think it is usually made with lamb bones...)

[Carolyn Tillie]

There is a recipe I got from Epicurious but their site is down now so I'll give you the gist. They call Moroccan Chickpea Soup and their directions are complicated, needing to start with dried chickpeas. I cheat and used them canned and can put this soup together in less than five minutes

It sounds a bit like Harira, the soup you have for ramadan in Morocco. I forgot about that one, that is good. (I think it is usually made with lamb bones...)

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Interesting -- I did a quick search on Harira and found meaty versions with saffron and vegetarian versions with turmeric. I guess the one I found IS similar and I never knew it (I love having religious-based cuisine...)

[Behemoth]

Smoked Turkey Stock is my latest secret weapon.  I'm addicted.

I want the recipe for moughrabbia !!! What is it? 

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Nessa, here is a link to a recipe:

Moghrabieh

(Sorry can't vouch for it, I don't think I cared for it as a kid.)

[markovitch]

I don't have much to add to this thread, save two things:

1) spinach and chickpeas is my favorite tapa(s?) at my local joint (Colosso, if any PDXers are reading)

2) I'm in college, and thus i have the brilliant and anything-but-succinct OED-online at my fingertips, thus, i will answer the chickpea/garbanzo bean question once and for all.

according to the OED, chickpea, is not chickpea, it is chick-pea, and their earliest mention is from Willam Turner, 1548, in "The names of herbes in Greke, Latin, Englishe, Duche and Frenche". Homey has several other books listed, including one about wine (early food writer!) Turner claims chick-pea is derivitive of an archaic french root.

Garbanzo is what you think: a spanish word for chick-pea. Earliest mention reported in the OED is 1759, "1759 tr. Venegas's Nat. & Civ. Hist. Calif. I. 45 The same success attended the experiments made with..garvanzo, or a kind of pease. "

oh the joys of procrastination.

peace out

Mark

Edited November 22, 2004 by markovitch (log)

[Pan]

according to the OED, chickpea, is not chickpea, it is chick-pea

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Thanks for the interesting definition, but I would say that it was chick-pea. I suppose that it may still be hyphenated in Britain, but not in the U.S., as you can see in Merriam-Webster. Many of us don't remember that to-day and to-morrow - for example - also used to be hyphenated.

[prasantrin]

Cooked chickpeas--can I freeze them? I've done the google thing, and have gotten mixed answers. All say you can freeze, but some say the texture changes, while some say there's no difference.

I'm hoping to cook up a lot of chickpeas, freeze them, and then add them to soup when needed (so texture is relatively important). I might make hummous with some (in which case the texture is not so important).

[deltadoc]

I don't recall if there's a specific reason for peeling the chickpeas - I guess to make the soup smoother? Anyway, it is a very simple and delicious soup - the only ingredients are chickpeas, leeks, water, a bouillon cube, pepper I think - and parmesan. Half gets pureed and put back in, so it also has a nice texture.

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My Middle Easter chef friends showed me a trick. They soak the beans over night, change the water and then simmer. During the simmering, they add a small amount of baking soda. This causes the beans to lose their skins and you can skim them right off. Also neutralizes the acid a bit in the beans making them smoother and tastier.

doc

[Chris Amirault]

There's a great Catalan dish for garbanzos with sofregit that Albert Asim, the chef at Bar Pinotxo, made for me about seven times while I was in Barcelona. I'm pretty sure that Catalan Cuisine by Colman Andrews has the recipe; I'll check at home.

[SheenaGreena]

I've sure this has been posted elsewhere, but I love roasting canned chickpeas on a tray till they get nice and crispy. toss them with some spices and dried herbs, and you have a tasty beer snack

[lperry]

Cooked chickpeas--can I freeze them?  I've done the google thing, and have gotten mixed answers.  All say you can freeze, but some say the texture changes, while some say there's no difference. 

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I cook a pound of beans at a time, so I freeze beans quite often. If they are well-cooked going into the freezer, they turn into dips and spreads on the way out. If they are a bit shy of very soft, they will most likely be OK. I also have found that chickpeas are a little more forgiving than other beans when it comes to freezing.

[prasantrin]

I cook a pound of beans at a time, so I freeze beans quite often.  If they are well-cooked going into the freezer, they turn into dips and spreads on the way out.  If they are a bit shy of very soft, they will most likely be OK.  I also have found that chickpeas are a little more forgiving than other beans when it comes to freezing.

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Thanks! They're going onto the stove as soon as I get home from work. They're old beans, so I'm planning to start checking them after an hour or so. Hopefully I'll be able to pull them before they're too soft (and if I miss the mark, a little more hummous won't be such a bad thing!).

[prasantrin]

My chickpea ragout was pretty good the first two meals, but after that, it got boring...couldn't bring myself to finish it today.

I decided to make roasted chickpeas with the remaining cooked chickpeas. For those of you who have made roasted chickpeas, do you peel or not peel?

I peeled, but I'm hoping I can avoid that part next time...(still have 1 1/2 large bags of chickpeas, so there will definitely be a next time)

[prasantrin]

I'm really trying to like chickpeas/garbanzo beans, but it's not working.

They're not so bad pureed, but I haven't yet found any other preparation that I like. Even the much touted roasted chickpeas just don't tantalize my taste buds.

Do I have any other options, other than making many many many cups of hummus to use up the rest of my chickpeas?

FWIW, I dislike beans, in general, but I really want to like them.

[lperry]

^Have you tried Indian preparations? Channa masala is a classic that is really delicious. I use a recipe from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook, but there are many out there on the net.

[prasantrin]

^Have you tried Indian preparations?  Channa masala is a classic that is really delicious.  I use a recipe from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook, but there are many out there on the net.

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I've done curry using a Guyanese curry powder. Does that count? I could handle one serving, but I gave the rest away.

It's the texture I'm not crazy about in large doses. I could try adding just little bits into everything I eat once I cook up a bunch and freeze them. And make a lot of hummus and perhaps some falafel (falafel doesn't do much for me, either, though). But I wish I could find something that would really knock my socks off.

[Kerry Beal]

^Have you tried Indian preparations?  Channa masala is a classic that is really delicious.  I use a recipe from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook, but there are many out there on the net.

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I've done curry using a Guyanese curry powder. Does that count? I could handle one serving, but I gave the rest away.

It's the texture I'm not crazy about in large doses. I could try adding just little bits into everything I eat once I cook up a bunch and freeze them. And make a lot of hummus and perhaps some falafel (falafel doesn't do much for me, either, though). But I wish I could find something that would really knock my socks off.

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I feel pretty much the way you do about chickpeas - want to love them! Not even a big fan of hummus. I do love Chufi's Chickpeas with Chorizo (every thing's better with chorizo) and I have one recipe I picked up from a fellow medical student that I'll dig up for you. Here you go - Christian's Chickpea Spread - a staple when I was at school. It solves the texture problem!

Christian's Chickpea Spread

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 onion, finely diced

2 cups chickpeas -- mashed

1 egg -- beaten

1/4 cup mayonnaise

cumin

hot chili peppers

yogurt

Fry up onion, add mashed chickpeas and beaten egg. Fry until dry. Add mayo and spices. Spread on rye bread or pumpernickle.

[hazardnc]

I love chickpeas! On the first page, someone mentioned the chickpeas with chorizo, which is an excellent tapa.

When we were in Siena many years ago, we dined at a trattoria that specialized in vegetarian dishes, though it was not a vegetarian restaurant. They made a chickpea soup that was out of this world.

I found this recipe on the web, and it tasted almost the same. Lots of garlic, rosemary and olive oil make it all the better. It's fast, easy, delicious and good for you.

Tuscan Chickpea Soup

[melamed]

Cooked chickpeas--can I freeze them?  I've done the google thing, and have gotten mixed answers.  All say you can freeze, but some say the texture changes, while some say there's no difference. 

I'm hoping to cook up a lot of chickpeas, freeze them, and then add them to soup when needed (so texture is relatively important).  I might make hummous with some (in which case the texture is not so important).

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what I usually do is soak dried chickpeas overnight and the following morning I freeze it (without cooking), saving alot of time.

[melamed]

My Middle Easter chef friends showed me a trick. They soak the beans over night, change the water and then simmer. During the simmering, they add a small amount of baking soda. This causes the beans to lose their skins and you can skim them right off. Also neutralizes the acid a bit in the beans making them smoother and tastier.

doc

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I add the baking soda in the soaking water and dump that before cooking. Baking soda is especially useful when using hard water (if you have lots of limescale in the coffee pot, you have hard water) because beans never get soft, even after hours of cooking. Don't overdo the baking soda, however because it leaves an unpleasant taste and also degrades some of the vitamins. When I can I use purified or filtered water instead of the baking soda trick, the chickpeas are sometimes not as soft, but they taste better to me.

[piazzola]

Like most recipes and just laugh at the suggestion of peeling veryone of them. Imagine doing a kilo of them spend the night peeling them to prevent flatulence LOL!

Here in Oz canned chickpeas were known as that, then food marketers came in and change the labels to garbanzo and now some cans sport the name ceci (understandably people and suckers pay more) perhaps we should wait a little longer and with the recent large influx of Indians, marketers will change can labels to channa dal.

[Domestic Goddess]

I grew up in a very Spanish-oriented province of the Philippines (Cavite City - part of the Spanish-Manila Galleon trade route). Chick peas were used in our Menudo stews, Callos (with tripe) and a very unique dessert - Garbanzos in Syrup. The latter is a dessert that is usually served during special occasions like fiestas or weddings. My great uncle would make this, cooking the beans first and then slowly braising them in syrup. It is a perfect addition to Halo-halo.

Oh, we always peel the garbanzos. In my province, unpeeled garbanzos are known to cause major indigestion. So the peels have to come off. My mom would make me sit on the kitchen table and then plop a big bowl of cooked chickpeas in front of me. I would have to shell all of them (usually alongside with our maid). By the end of the ordeal, my fingers would be pruny from the wet beans. I would hate doing it but love the beans in my mom's stews.

[zoe b]

this is timely, as i've been on a chickpea kick lately--tried a delicious recipe from the NYT--

Warm Chickpea & Broccoli Salad

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/health/n...cipehealth.html

I've made it three times already--and variations , of course--it was good with cauliflower, too.

Something really clever in the recipe-- a suggested sub of 2 tbls. of the olive oil with yogurt--absolutely delish--and you don't miss the oil at all.

Z

[Darienne]

It may be time to update this topic. I've just read through the entire text and found two soups I might try...actually they seem almost identical...and am still looking.

Chana Punjabi, a favorite, was not mentioned. Nor were any vegetable stews. I have recipes for both Moroccan and Indian roasted vegetable stews with chickpeas. And a recipe for Chickpea Tofu Stew which I got from 125 Best Vegetarian Recipes which I borrowed from some library somewhere in my travels and never saw again. I still have the recipe and make it quite often.

It's a whole new decade and I am looking for some new chickpea recipes. Thanks.

[Kim D]

I made kala channa last night. My husband and I both loved it.