I love cooking from cookbooks such as those by Ottolenghi which focus on developing flavor from plant based foods. And legume based dishes are popular on my table. But I have balked at trying out many of the lovely looking recipes for chickpeas because while I like the flavor I have always hated the chalky texture.
I also used to hate lima beens but have learned that if you cook them correctly and slowly they do develop a nice creamy texture. So I am curious whether other cooks working with chickpeas have found that they eventually lose the chalkiness that I hate. If not I will stick with Hummus for my chickpea flavor.
I always do an overnight refridgerated presoak, and thenuse Lidia Bastianich's method for cooking beans - Garlicky white bean recipe. Adding the olive oil didn't make any sense to me, but the texture was so nice that I have done it ever since. I also refrain from adding salt and acidic ingredients until later in the cooking process.
For the Limas ( Gigantes) Once the beans were cooked I made my aromatic sauce and then slowly baked the beans with the sauce in the oven ( the method is based on Diane Kochilas's recipe for Gigantes with celery). The oven baking meant stirring wasn't necessary and so the beans tenderized to the popint of creaminess without breaking up.
I am hoping that people who have expreience cooking with chickpeas will let me know if the texture changes, and if so, if there was a secret to it. I am hoping it is just a matter of cooking them long enough.
Thanks,
Lisa