Fresh Chickpeas - Ingredients - Eat Your Books

Forum

Welcome Guest! You can not login or register.

Notification

Icon
Error

#1 Posted : Tuesday, March 24, 2015 6:58:28 PM(UTC)
Has anyone cooked with fresh chickpeas? I saw them for the first time last spring at WF, on a whim bought them tonight for a pesto pasta dish. No idea how long to cook them for. They are easier to shell than other beans or peas with a pod that is loose like tomatillos. They remind me of tiny little brains (the source of the expression?...) I have not seen them in any Middle Eastern cooking and wonder just how authentic it is to use them in their natural state.
#2 Posted : Tuesday, March 24, 2015 9:23:53 PM(UTC)

I thought for sure I'd seen a recipe involving fresh chickpeas in one of the Middle Eastern cookbooks here, but apparently not. 


The only recipe using them I have access to is from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, where they're deep-fried in their pods for 2-4 minutes in peanut oil, drained and salted on a cooling rack lined with paper towels, and served warm as a cocktail snack or appetizer.  Those being served remove the beans from their pods to eat (so ideally for a somewhat informal occasion, with plenty of paper napkins).

#3 Posted : Wednesday, March 25, 2015 2:59:58 AM(UTC)

I spied a recipe for them just last night in Matt Wilkinson's new book Mr Wilkinson's Simply Dressed Salads. He has a recipe for Fresh Chickpea Salad. Chickpeas are slipped out of their pods - keep half of them raw and blanch the others in boiling water until tender (no time given although presumably relatively quick if half are eaten raw). He suggests mixing them with shaved raw asparagus, shalllot and feta. I might have to grow some to try them out!

#4 Posted : Wednesday, March 25, 2015 11:39:25 AM(UTC)

You are lucky to find them at a market. You might also check the frozen vegetable section, probably next to the edamame. I grow them myself so that I can have them. I use the fresh ones as I would fresh peas or shell beans. I shell them before using them. A very short blanch is enough to cook them. I freeze the fresh, shelled, raw chickpeas and use them as frozen peas. They are okay raw, but unless you catch them at just the right time, rather starchy. After the peak of the season, I let them mature on the plants and then shell the dried beans for use as dried chickpeas.


Searching on "fresh chickpeas" in the EYB recipe search turns up about 20 recipes containing the ingredient to look at for ideas. You can also search on a variety of terms such as "green garbanzo"  or "fresh garbanzo" to get recipes that mention them in the recipe title.


Let us know what you do with them.

#5 Posted : Wednesday, March 25, 2015 2:15:09 PM(UTC)
I blanched the chickpeas and tossed them in pesto along with some asparagus and fresh ravioli. They were similar to cooked dried chickpeas only with a bit more chew. I do have the cookbook Vibrant Food by Kimberly Hasselbrink which has a recipe for chickpea toasts. It calls for tossing with oil & vinegar and using them raw. If they were the same consistency as this batch I would definitely blanch them first. I plan to buy them if I find them again- they are a lot less work than fava beans!
#6 Posted : Tuesday, March 31, 2015 1:28:11 PM(UTC)

Exciting that you found them at Whole Foods....

You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.