Eat Well: Garbanzo Beans with WWW

*updated below*

When Rebecca was a teenager, she practically lived on garbanzo beans (chick peas, for those of you on the East Coast!). She would dump a can in a bowl and add whatever else we had in the house (often canned corn and leftover vegetables covered with freshly ground pepper). It’s no wonder that she craved them…she was, at that time, the only vegetarian in the house and I hadn’t yet figured out how to cook vegetarian cuisine. Garbanzo beans are hugely nutritious and are especially high in iron and protein. They are versatile because of their texture and can be ground into flour for falafels and flatbreads, blended to make hummus, marinated in salads, used as a basis for veggie burgers, or can take center stage for a great vegetarian meal. Canned garbanzos are of course easiest, but cooking the dried ones doesn’t take very long and the difference in flavor is well worth the trouble. (Plus they are about a fourth the price). You can freeze them, so I often make a lot, freeze in packets, and defrost when needed.

Hummus is a staple in our house; my husband and I eat it every day for lunch. It makes amazing sandwiches…add tomatoes, roasted peppers, avocado, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar for the best sandwich EVER. Home made is so much better than store bought, is cheap, and is a snap to make. I make a huge bowl of it at a time and it keeps for a week. Since I am gluten free, I eat it with Mary’s crackers or with a slice of gluten free bread, open faced, topped with veggies. Archer and Fable love my Hummus…Archer calls it “Gooey Thomas” (Archer gave me the name, Gooey, when he first started to talk). Here is my “Gooey Thomas.”

Gooey Thomas (Hummus)

3 ½ cups cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas) or two cans, drained

½ cup tahini (sesame paste)

Juice of 2 or 3 lemons

2 cloves garlic (more if you LOVE raw garlic)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cumin

Good quality olive oil

Warm water

Put all ingredients in the food processor except the olive oil and the water. Turn on processor and add about a ¼ cup of water and a few tablespoons of oil or until the consistency that you like. Process 'til smooth. I like mine on the thick side, so I don’t add much oil and water. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.

Variations: You can substitute lime juice for the lemon juice and it’s wonderful. For a really Mexican flavor, add cilantro and a half a jalapeno pepper at the end of the processing. Don’t over process these. Other variations: roasted peppers, basil…you can experiment with different oils, too, such as Meyer lemon.

NOTE: if you don’t have a food processor, you can mash garbanzos with a potato masher and blend all the ingredients in your mixer on high.

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Several years ago I took a Northern Italian cooking class from the amazing Nadia Frigeri, and have been making this garbanzo stew ever since. It’s a wonderful summer meal as it uses red peppers, basil and tomatoes, but I often make it for Thanksgiving or Christmas so that we vegetarians in the family have something scrumptious to eat!

Garbanzo beans, Tomatoes, and Sweet Pepper Stew (Ceci Stufati Ai Peperoni)

(For a quicker version of this, use 1 jar prepared roasted peppers and 4 -5 canned garbanzo beans. If using canned peppers and beans, rinse WELL in a strainer under water to remove the brine).

2 cups dried garbanzo beans (or 4-5 cans, rinsed well until no foam appears, and drained)

2 medium red bell peppers, roasted and cut into 1 inch pieces (can substitute roasted peppers in the jar to save time, rinsed and patted dry)

½ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon pepper flakes

1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

4 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped basil

3 T chopped parsley

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. (Omit this step if using canned) Rinse and place chickpeas in a medium bowl, add enough water to cover by 2-inches, set aside to soak, preferably overnight. Drain. (Or boil for 3 minutes and turn off and let sit an hour). Place pre soaked or pre cooked garbanzos in a medium pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cove and cook until beans are tender but still firm, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. (Omit this step if using canned) Roast peppers (split and seed them, flatten, and broil close to the broiler until blackened. Let rest in a paper sack for 10 minutes and peel).

3. Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan or casserole. Add olive oil, pepper flakes, garlic, and onions. Cook about 5 minutes. Add garbanzos, tomatoes, basil, half of the parsley, salt, pepper and red peppers.

4. Cover and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning and transfer to serving bowl or platter and serve with Israeli couscous or quinoa (recipe below). Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve. Serves 6.

... with a side of Israeli Couscous or quinoa:

Cook quinoa or Israeli couscous according to package directions, enough for 6 servings. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, sauté 2-3 green onions, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped, and 3 T olive oil. Add to cooked couscous or quinoa.

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Here is a delicious and healthy snack that will be a hit with the whole family:

Roasted Garbanzo beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper

seasonings of your choice (garlic powder or herb/ spice mix)

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse beans until no more foam forms. Drain well and pat dry. Toss in oil and season with salt, pepper, and seasonings of your choice. Place on baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes or until they are slightly browned and make a rattling sound when shaken. Watch them at the end so they don’t get too brown. Serve warm or let cool.

Delicious!

Other ideas:

You can use garbanzo flour as a great wheat flour substitute. The French and Italians make wonderful flat breads with garbanzo flour…socca in France and farinata in Italy. Here is a great recipe for this bread used as a pizza crust, ideal for gluten free diets/fun and easy to make with the kids.

And the most fun of all, garbanzo bean balls! This is similar to falafels, but raw, soaked garbanzos. Kids LOVE them. You can serve them in pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce, as an appetizer, or in recipes calling for meatballs.

Garbanzo Bean Balls

1 c. DRIED garbanzo beans

Water

3 green onions or

1/2 c. chopped parsley

4 garlic cloves

1 egg

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Oil for frying

Sesame seeds

garbanzo beans post-soak vs garbanzo beans pre-soak

Soak garbanzos in about 5 cups of water overnight.

Drain. Place all ingredients in food processor, except sesame seeds. Process until almost smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes and refrigerate until cold. Form into balls or disks. Roll in sesame seeds and fry in hot oil until brown. Turn and fry on the other side. Drain on paper towels.

Serve warm or cold (can be made ahead and reheated). Fable LOVES these!!!

...And if you want an easy traditional falafel recipe, Bob’s Redmill Farms has a great one.

I hope you enjoyed my garbanzo bonanza!!

WWW for GGC

Today we're giving away three copies of the health and nutrition manifesto, The China Study, one of the most important books you've never read. Unless you've read it. In which case, you will probably agree with us re: its eye-opening-whoa. Three winners to be chosen at random, announced Friday. All you must do to enter? Tell me your plans for tonight's dinner. Me? I'm making... yeah, another quinoa dish. (Its recipe I'll post next week.)

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Updated: Congrats to Commenters #17 (Irene!) #61 (K's 2:27pm) and #143 (Mrs. Sitcom!) Please email me asap so I can get your books to you and thanks to everyone for participating!