chickpeas

Penelope_Penguin

Toxic_Lemon wrote:

LOL. Do Driffield and Bridlington-on-Sea shops even do hummus?

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Possibly not, but you'll can get it in the deli in Beverley!

Another Yorkie, perchance?

Penny. x

Toxic_Lemon

Penelope_Penguin wrote:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Possibly not, but you'll can get it in the deli in Beverley!

Another Yorkie, perchance?

Penny. x

Sadly not! I'm a Londoner ("maybe it's because..." ) but BF is! Beautiful place.

debtworrier

Chris25 wrote:

......drain them well, season them with herbs, spices, curry powder, whatever you like, spritz them with oil then put them into a hot oven till crisp.

open a bottle of wine and pass the snacks around

About how long would they take in a hot oven? (I'm recovering from neck-ache after watching aubergines cook on a knee-level grill.) )

debtworrier

Juicy_Tube wrote:

Was meaning to ask you lot this!

Hummous.. :P
What quantities of what please?

JT x

Okay, here's what I do to make hummous:

I use dried chickpeas because they're cheaper - but you can use tinned ones if you want. Probably about three drained tins would be the equivalent here.

1 half-pint mugful of dried chickpeas
1/4 pint of oil
4 tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste - buy from supermarkets or asian grocers)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Approx half a mugful of cold water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak 1 half-pint mugful of dried chickpeas overnight in at least 2 pints of cold water.
2. Drain.
3. Put the soaked, drained chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with cold UNSALTED water.
4. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 mins, or until the chickpeas have no hard bit in the middle when you cut a test one in half.
5. Peel 3 decent sized cloves of garlic.
6. Peel the zest off one lemon (using a veg peeler) and chop it finely. Don't press too hard or you'll get some of the pith too, which tastes nasty.
7. Squeeze the juice from the lemon
8. Put the lemon zest, garlic and lemon juice in your food processor and give it a good bizz to make sure all that pungent stuff is chopped small (I once ended up with surprise garlic crunchies in my hummous!)
9.Add the chickpeas and bizz again.
10. Stir the tahini in its jar, because all the pulp tends to sink to the bottom. Add about 4 tablespoons of tahini to the processor (more if you like your hummous sweeter and nuttier, less if you prefer a more 'buttery' taste.) Bizz again.
10. While the motor's running, steadily pour in about a quarter of a pint of oil. Olive oil is traditional, but any oil will do, so long as it's not too strongly flavoured. I use sunflour oil, mostly.
11. Now look at the texture of the mix as it's churning round in the processor. Does it look pale, creamy and smooth, or a bit like mashed potato (a darker almost butter coloured yellow and a bit fluffy looking is what I'm trying to say.) If it doesn't look smooth and creamy, pour in a little bit of cold water (about 2 tablespoonfuls) this varies a bit depending on the chickpeas. I like my hummous quite stiff, so you may want to add more water until it looks about right to you. Do you prefer a 'dip' or a 'spread'?

Turn off the machine, season with salt and black pepper to taste.

It's really nice served with just a dribble of a posh virgin olive oil over it.

This makes about a sandwich box full, which will stay good in the fridge for at least a week, but will get more garlicky as time goes on (I actually prefer it the next day, when it's had time to mature a bit.)

You can freeze it too.

debtworrier

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

If you find beans have a mal-odourous side effect on your digestive system, don't use the cooking liquid in the soup/stew.

I find throwing the soaking water out and cooking them in fresh makes a big difference.

You can also add a couple of slices of fresh ginger to the water when you're cooking beans or pulses. Take it out before serving.

Turmeric is also good, about 1/2 tsp in the water when cooking (be careful not to tip any on your clothes though, it's a very good dye!)

debtworrier

If you bought chickpeas in the past from a shop with a low turnover they may have been sitting on the shelf, drying out, for months (and in the warehouse etc before that for who knows how long.)
If (after soaking overnight) they're still not tender after an hour's cooking, make a note to buy your next lot from somewhere else!

debtworrier

Sweet_Pea wrote:

One of my favourites - chick pea and potato curry. Yum.
(Although OH did say "wheres the meat?")

...and you replied "it's eating the curry," natch.

TKP_3

Chris25 wrote:

......drain them well, season them with herbs, spices, curry powder, whatever you like, spritz them with oil then put them into a hot oven till crisp.

open a bottle of wine and pass the snacks around

I have just tried this - what temp is a hot oven? And how long do you cook them for?
I did 200C and they have been in for 40 minutes. They are not crisp, but going hard (taken them out now) - help please!!!

Andrea

Just wanted to thank everyone on this thread for all the ideas.

I soaked wayyy too many chickpeas over the weekend so spent about 4 hours yesterday using this thread to make houmous, falafel mix and pasta sauce and now the freezer's full!

Put a wee bit too much garlic in the houmous so I hope OH's colleagues are going to forgive him and his sandwiches today

Fivenations

Chickpea and pasta soup

Article source http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,1694441,00.html.

Taken from Anna del Conte's Entertaining all'Italiana (out of print so hope she doesn't mind)

Serves 12

400g dried chickpeas ( or use 4 tins ready cooked, in whih case simmer them with water, garlic and herbs for 30 minutes))
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp salt
3 litres vegetable stock or water
3 rosemary sprigs
8 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
120ml extra virgin olive oil
400g skinned fresh tomatoes, seeded
270g small tubular pasta such as ditalini
parmesan cheese for grating
chilli oil and flat-leaf parsley, optional

If cooking beans - Put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with plenty of water. Mix together the bicarb of soda, flour and salt and add enough water to make a thin paste. Stir this mixture into the bowl with the chickpeas and leave to soak for at least 12 hours - preferably 24.

When the chickpeas have doubled their weight (you don't have to get your scales out: trust your eyes) they are ready to be cooked. Drain and rinse. Put them in a large stockpot and add the vegetable stock or the same quantity of water. Tie the rosemary sprigs in a muslin bag and add to the stockpot.

Add the garlic to the stockpot and pour in half the oil. Cover the pan tightly and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook over the lowest simmer until the chickpeas are tender, which can take two to four hours. Do not uncover the pan for the first hour and a half, or the chickpeas will harden. For the same reason, do not add any salt until the chickpeas are nearly ready.

When the chickpeas are tender, remove the garlic and the rosemary bundle. Purée the tomatoes through a food mill or in a food processor and add to the soup with their juice. Stir well, add salt and pepper to taste and cook for a further 10 minutes or so. This is the point at which you should stop when you're cooking the soup in advance. In which case, when you want to eat it, put it back on the hob and reheat it, so that you can proceed to the final step, which is to cook the pasta.

Before you add the pasta, check that there is enough liquid in the pan. You may have to add some boiling water. Now, add the pasta and cook till al dente. I like to add some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, but the glory of this soup will be undiminished if you prefer not to. But do pour some of the remaining oil into the pot of soup, and drizzle some more into each bowl after you've ladled in the soup. Put the Parmesan on the table with a grater.