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The Illustrious Chickpea

This little bean will always have a special place in my heart.

By Phoebe LeePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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There’s been a can of chickpeas sitting in my cupboard for almost a year now. Why did I even buy them? Maybe I thought I’d throw them in a salad or sizzle them in a pan for a little while… that’s what people do with chickpeas, right?

Either way, the can is still there, catching my eye every time I go to grab something else—another can of beans maybe, that aren’t garbanzo.

But finally, the other beans run out. All I’m left with is… chickpeas.

And so began my journey into learning about this illustrious bean. Legume? Pea? Anyways…

(Also, just for future reference, all recipes begin by draining and rinsing the beans!)

Hummus

... is the most obvious recipe for garbanzos.

While most recipes will call for tahini—which will make the hummus taste more… hummus-y—you don’t have to add it. Just using a little more olive oil can do the trick if you either don’t want to buy tahini or don’t have it in your pantry.

What I do is add lemon juice, garlic, cumin, olive oil, some cold water, and—you guessed it—the garbanzo beans, to a food processor or a blender.

...Or you could try smashing it all together with a fork or potato masher… not sure how smoothly that would go (haha, get it?) but if you want some chunky hummus, then there ya go!

I never really measure things out when I'm cooking, I just go with the flow. If the hummus seems like it needs a little more liquid, I'll taste it and decide to go with more lemon juice, water, or even oil. I deal with every cooking problem that way: tasting and adapting based on the flavor.

There are plenty of hummus recipes online for more accurate measurements!

BBQ

One of my favorite things to do with a can of chickpeas is plop them in a pot with some BBQ sauce and then smash them up just enough to where the beans will stick together with the sauce.

I throw some spices in there—garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper—then do one of the following:

  • Drape it over a potato (usually a sweet potato, but I’ve done a russet or two in my time.)
  • Slap it between two pieces of bread to make a sandwich.
  • Throw it in a salad.
  • … eat it as is, ‘cause it’s pretty darn good by itself.

Chickpea Salad

I know, I know, a salad. I don’t mean the lettuce type of salad though, but the mayo-relish-mustard salad.

Smash the chickpeas and toss them with the mentioned ingredients to taste, adding more mayo when it’s dry or mustard when it’s bland.

Don’t forget the salt and pepper, and you can use it for pretty much anything any other mayo-salad can be used for: sandwiches, wraps, or just eating alone with a fork or spoon.

Soup

One of the first soups I made from scratch was a kale and chickpea soup—and honestly, I only made it because I needed to use up a bunch of kale… the chickpeas were kind of an afterthought. *insert shrug emoji.*

Any sort of vegetable soup can be upgraded with a can of garbanzos; add some extra mmph and protein. One cup of chickpeas has a smacking 39g of it!

Speaking of protein…

Meat Substitute!

I could possibly just get rid of the BBQ section altogether, but—honestly I love BBQ chickpeas, so I’m not going to. In any case, chickpeas can be used as a meat substitute for other types of dishes as well.

Instead of chicken and broccoli, try stir frying chickpeas and broccoli together. Want some meatless curry? Sprinkle in those sweet, sweet garbanzos. In the mood for a burger? Put some chickpeas and seasonings in a food processor and watch your dreams come true.

While it will take a bit of creativity, almost any dish can benefit from chickpeas!

vegetarian
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About the Creator

Phoebe Lee

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