chickpeas

catkins

I normally always have cooked chickpeas in the freezer which I only need to defrost but have just looked and there aren't any! I really wanted to cook a dish using them tonight. I have just put some into soak. Is there anyway to speed things up or will I have to buy some tinned ones?

Pink.

Hi catkins,

This older thread might help: Tips to soften chickpeas?

I'll merge your thread with that one later to keep all the suggestions together.

Pink

annie-c

Soak them for two hours in just boiled water. Then do the usual boiling for 40-50 mins and they should be fine.

lofty_cherrytree

I seem to remember Delia says to boil for 3 hours and then leave to cool in water if time then use as usual.

avantra

In the middle east the most common way to get them soft is to use bicarbonate when leaving overnight to soak.

The correct amount in order to get a good Hummus is a secret and the cause of many debates in the streets of any country in the middle east.

Some recomend to add 1/4 teaspoon but this is a matter of taste, in the mideast they don't add pesto/chilly etc' as the supermarkets do keep things simple you know.

Good Hummus (Palestinian/Israeli style):

1 lemon
2 tins of Tesco Humus (purple tin) or better is to buy dry and soak with 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate
3 garlic cloves (crashed)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Tahini (try to stay away of the organic types)
Salt (as much as you need)

Drain the chickpeas but keep at list one cup of the water.
Put in a big bowl with the Tahini, the lemon juice, crashed garlic, olive oil, half a cup of the water.

Wizz it all or use in a food processor, you want to get a medium smooth paste not too watery or to cementy, use the water to play with the mix until you get the correct texture



[FONT=&quot]Taddda!! You have a lot of hummus now, serve on a flat plate with hot pitta bread,olive oil pond in the middle and garnish with parsley ,paprika and roasted pine nuts, yammy!
:T
[/FONT]

Baggiebird1nil

I have a bag of these in the cupboard and don't have a clue what to do with them. Any ideas MSE'ers?

NicolaC

Soak over night...
Then puree with some garlic, herbs, Olive oil and a little lemon juice for some simple hummous?

thriftlady_2

How could I not reply to a fellow Baggies fan Boing boing !

The first thing I'd do with them is soak the whole bag in water overnight. Next day bring them to the boil in a large pan of water. Lower the heat so they are bubbling gently and cook for about an hour until soft to eat. They don't have to cooked to a mush.

Drain and cool. When cool divide into portions (about as much as you'd get in a tin), put into plasitc bags or freezer tubs and freeze. You can use them straight from the freezer if you are adding them to hot liquids.

One of my favourite ways with chickpeas is to cook them in a spicy tomato-based stew with chorizo sausage and red peppers. Sort of Spanish-style. This is also good with chicken joints thrown in.

Another favourite is chickpea curry. Add them to a base of onion, garlic, tomatoes and curry spices along with diced potato, carrots and peas. Add a dollop of yogurt towards the end of cooking.

Try making a vegetable stew with them and serving over couscous. Use a Morrocan spice mix like harissa and add veg like carrots, turnips, courgettes and lots of tomatoes.

You can also make a snacky/nibble type thing with them. Toss in olive oil with spices and brown in a frying pan till toasty. Cool and serve.

Back to more important matters -Spring Bank holiday, what a nightmare :eek: How did we not win ? To make matters worse for me, my next door neighbour is a Derby fan and he actually went to watch the match at Wembley -he couldn't believe they won either. Still, at least it wasn't Wolves

mrbadexample

Chick pea curry?

Gingham_Ribbon

We have a long running thread on chickpeas with plenty of ideas. I'll merge this with it to keep all the answers together. You'll need to read from the beginning to get all the ideas.

I love chickpeas. I buy a kilo of them now, soak overnight in about double the amount of water to chickpeas, rinse and bring to the boil the next day and simmer for about an hour and 20 minutes. Then I rinse in cold water and freeze in mug size portions ready to use when I fancy. They mostly go in curries or hummous.