Part 7: Chickpeas, the little black dress of the kitchen, adorned for winter

Taking a break from holiday hoopla to offer simple, sane, nourishing chickpea recipes perfect for this dark, cold time of year. Chickpeas are never not the perfect thing to serve and right now when everyone is so rushed, it's a gift to be able to open a can of chickpeas and create a meal in minutes.

Moroccan Chickpea Tagine

Serve with couscous and a green vegetable if you're vegetarian/vegan. Or use this is a very tasty side dish with roasted meats or chicken. Take this heartwarming dish to a potluck with pride.  Most of the ingredients are the tantalizing spices so it's really quite simple to prepare and colorful to serve.
serves 4-6 as a meal, 8 as a side dish

1/4 c olive oil
1 med/lg onion diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp harissa (hot sauce)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1  140z can or box chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
2 15 oz cans cooked chickpeas
1/4 c chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

 Heat the olive oil in a medium casserole. Add the onion and sauté on medium heat 5-7 minutes until it's soft. Stir in the garlic, harissa and spices. Simmer 2 minutes, adding oil if the pot looks dry. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and simmer 20 minutes to get a rich sauce.

While that's cooking, put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Lift them up handfuls at a time, shake the bowl, rub the chickpeas between your hands, do whatever to loosen their nearly invisible skins. These will float to the top. Skim them off. Not to worry if you can't do this perfectly or at all. Drain the chickpeas well and stir them into the tomato sauce. Cover the pot again and simmer for 20-25 minutes,  adding 2-3 tbsps of water if the tagine looks dry.

Remove from the stove. Stir in the parsley and cilantro. Taste and adjust the salt, cumin and/or harissa to your taste. Serve with couscous or flatbread.

Newari Kwaati, a nine bean restorative soup from Nepal
This very special, beloved soup/stew from the Kathmandu valley of Nepal is in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. The fat chickpeas stand out among the other beans and small lentils. Taken together, these nine beans are thought to restore and nourish the body after it's been through tough weather, childbirth, surgery, illness and the ravages of aging. The medicinal value is often overshadowed by the addictive taste.

Serves 8-10

¼ cup dried whole mung beans, soaked overnight

¼ cup soybeans, soaked overnight

2 tbsp mustard, corn, sunflower, safflower or olive oil

1 lg onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1” fresh ginger root, peeled and minced or grated

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

2 bay leaves

1 15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzos), drained

1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained

1 15 oz can black-eyed peas, drained

1 15 oz can cannellini or any white beans, drained

1 15 oz can black beans, drained

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp arbol chili powder (or any chili powder that’s mildly hot)

1 tsp salt

1cup water

3 cups vegetable broth (or water)

fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, chopped

1 tsp. caraway seeds, lightly fried in 1 tsp butter/ghee for optional garnish

Drain soybeans and mung beans. Put soybeans in a saucepan, cover well with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 30 minutes. Add mung beans and cook another 20 minutes or until both beans are soft but not mushy. Drain.

In a soup pot or large casserole, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté 4-5 minutes until onion is soft and golden. Stir in fenugreek and add bay leaves.  Cook 30 seconds. Add all beans, spices and salt. Carefully blend.  Add water and broth. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. 

To serve: remove bay leaves.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and, optionally, caraway seeds.  Serve in soup bowls. Optionally, serve over aromatic rice.

Ottoman Chickpea Pilaf

Supposedly, the secret of this palace dish was solid gold balls were strewn among the chickpeas. You may not want to go that far but you could get the effect serving this in a glittery bowl or with the edible gold leaf often sold at Indian markets. 
Serves 4

1 cup drained cook chickpeas
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 med white onion, diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika or ground Aleppo pepper
1 full cup long grain rice, rinsed and drained (Basmati works well here)
2 1/2 c chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Put the chickpeas in a bowl with the cumin and Aleppo pepper and roll them around to coat them.
In a heavy gauge casserole or pan with a lid, over med heat melt the butter and oil, stir in the onion and sauté  5-7 minutes until it's soft. Lower the heat if necessary so you don't burn it.  Add the rice, chickpeas and broth. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to low/simmer, partly cover the pot and simmer 10 minutes or until almost all the water has been absorbed.

Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a clean dry dish towel and put the lid tightly on top to seal the pan closed. Let the rice steam this way 10 minutes. Remove the lid, towel and fluff up the rice with a fork before serving. To serve you can add pieces of the edible gold leaf.

North African Couscous with Seven Vegetables (one of them is chickpeas)

This is another treasured recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. If you're not vegetarian you can add stewing lamb or beef. This is a great party dish. The saffron makes it special.

Serves 8 -10

4 tbsp butter or ghee

2 onions, peeled and quartered (veg 1)

OPTIONAL: 1 1/2 lb stewing lamb or beef cut into bite sized pieces

2 cinnamon sticks

½ tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp saffron, pulverized

1/4 tsp allspice

2 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper

1 chili pepper, seeded and diced (veg 2)

4 tomatoes, blanched and skinned (veg 3)

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup fresh parsley and cilantro leaves mixed, not chopped

1 lb turnips, peeled and sliced into disks (veg 4)

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1½” lengths (veg 5)

1quart vegetable broth

1 lb zucchini, about 4 medium squashes (veg 6)

1 15oz can cooked chickpeas (veg 7)

¼ cup raisins, try not to use golden as they won’t show up well

4 tbsp mashed pumpkin (in case you don't want to count the chili pepper as a veg)

 1 lb couscous, packaged is fine

handful finely diced fresh cilantro leaves

In a large heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, optional meat, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron, black pepper, allspice, chili pepper, tomatoes, salt and parsley. Sauté 10 minutes, shaking the pot a few times so the butter touches everything.  Add turnips, carrots and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer 30 minutes.  Add zucchini, chickpeas and raisins. Cover and continue to simmer another 20-25 minutes. Stir in the mashed pumpkin which will slightly thicken the broth. Cover and simmer 10 more minutes.

Prepare couscous according to package instructions.

Mound couscous on a very large serving platter. Press a well in the center and fill it with the vegetables removed from the pot with a slotted spoon to drain them. Ladle broth over the whole platter and serve.  (Note: if there is too much broth, pour some into a gravy boat to serve on the side.) Top everything with a handful of finely diced fresh cilantro leaves.

Chickpea Ragout with Cauliflower and Apricots
Another treat from Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, appropriate and colorful for this time of year. Don't be turned off by the long ingredient list: most of it is spice.

Serves 8-10

3  15 oz cans chick peas, drained and rinsed

3 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth broth

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

5 cardamom pods, cracked

6 whole cloves

12-14 whole black peppercorns

4 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

1  3” piece ginger, peeled

5 lg garlic cloves, peeled

1 lg red onion, finely chopped

2 Serrano chilies, seeded and chopped (use 1 Habanero or scotch bonnet or tiny Thai chili, seeded and chopped if you can’t find Serranos)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped tomatoes with juice

1 lg cauliflower, cored and cut into florets

8 dried apricot halves

½ lb okra, halved lengthwise

juice of 1 lime

¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves or 2 tbsp dried

¼ cup chopped fresh flat or curly leaf parsley leaves

Combine the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and peppercorns in a piece of cheese cloth, spice bag or perhaps a tea leaf filter bag, and tie it tightly with non plastic string. Put the spice bag in the bottom of a large casserole or medium soup pot. Add the vegetable broth. Cover and simmer on medium 10-12 minutes.

In a mini food processor, or by hand, chop and blend the garlic and ginger into an almost paste. 

 Heat a medium skillet and add the olive oil.  When it is hot, add the garlic/ginger paste, Serrano chilies and diced onion. Brown 5 minutes over medium heat. If necessary, lower heat to avoid burning. Add salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric and nutmeg. Stir fry one minute until mixture is fragrant.

Pour this onion mix into the broth and blend.  Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and apricots. Cook 5 minutes uncovered over medium heat.  Add cauliflower and continue to cook until it is almost tender, 5-8 minutes. Add okra and cook 5 more minutes. 

Discard the spice bag.  Add the lime juice. Taste and adjust salt. Garnish with mint and parsley and serve over couscous, fregola, freekah or quinoa, perhaps with a side of tsatziki or raita.  You could add a platter of roasted lamb.

This tastes even better the next day. Leave the spice bag in overnight.

 Winter Squash Tagine with Chickpea Couscous

Here's an alternative to the couscous with seven vegetables: a squash tagine on top of couscous with harissa and chickpeas in it instead of the tagine. 
Serves 4
 

¾ lb shallots

2 tbsp olive oil

2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chunked

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

2 ½ c vegetable broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

1 doz pitted prunes

2 tsp honey

2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into large bite sized pieces

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

10 oz couscous

1 tbsp harissa

½ tsp salt

1 can chickpeas, drained

handful toasted blanched slivered almonds

In a large lidded casserole or pan, heat the oil and sauté the shallots 5 min. until they are soft and browning. Add the squash and spices, stirring to blend for 1 min. Pour in the broth, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the prunes and honey. Cover and simmer 8 -10 min.

Add the red peppers and continue cook 8-10 min until they are tender. Stir in the cilantro and mint.

Put the couscous in a bowl and pour ¾ c boiling water over it. Stir in the harissa and ½ tsp salt. Add the chickpeas, cover the bowl and let it sit 5 min. Fluff up with a fork and serve with the tagine, almonds and extra mint.