Culinary Blog
Chickpeas recipes
Chickpeas are a wonderful ingredient that has been appreciated around the world for centuries. They’re nutritionally dense, tasty, and super versatile, too. For a long time, they have been considered something that only plant-based eaters should eat a lot of - we couldn’t disagree more! People that love eating meat should be sure to get some chickpeas in their diet too. They can be used in so many different ways that you’d only be missing out if you avoided them. We’ve got three great options for cooking with chickpeas here, and we’re certain that you’ll love them.
FALAFEL
Falafel is something that has been eaten in the fertile crescent region of the world for thousands of years, in one form or another. The simple fusion of chickpeas used for their great texture, and other ingredients used to bring life and zest to the dish as a whole. Essentially, falafel is small, deep-fried balls that are formed from a combination of chickpeas, onion, and a mixture of herbs and spices. While falafel can often be seen as somewhat of street food, due to the fact that it is typically quite cheap to make, there’s truly an art form to making great falafel. A great comparison for someone that’s more familiar with western food is pizza. While pizza is a simple, cheap dish, there’s an ocean of difference in quality between great and awful pizza. Generally, the way to nail great falafel is to get your spice blend correct. This is the same for a number of international cuisines - the perfect spice blend enhances a great meal. This can be seen really well in a Lebanese fatteh - it’s a simple stewed dish, but when cooked with top-notch spices, the meal is utterly divine. To track down some great spices, we’d suggest getting a mixed box of different Lebanese or other middle eastern spices, such as our Kanz box. A box like that will mean that you can get a range of different high-quality spices in your hands, which will allow you to experiment with your spice blend when you finally make falafel.
HUMMUS
Hummus is something that has found success all across the world - people adore it, and for good reason. It originates from the middle east and is made by combining cooked, mashed chickpeas with tahini, lemon juice, and finely minced garlic. The ingredients are combined quite aggressively, such that any flavors of the dish are well mixed with one another, and the final dip is truly homogenous. At the most basic level, hummus made from solely the ingredients listed above is quite dull, though it could be compared to simplistic western dips and spreads like mayonnaise. To make hummus more interesting, any combination of spices and herbs can be added - this will lead to a very exciting appetizer! Hummus is typically served as such, with flatbread or crackers, and eaten as a starter. Hummus can also be added to a number of other dishes as a spread or used to dunk food into. It has quite a thick texture, which makes it extremely useful to spread across bread or a similar substance. We would suggest seasoning your hummus as you might prefer, and then adding it to your sandwiches or flatbreads! To season your hummus, we’d recommend seeking out some really great coriander. The combination of coriander and lemon is a wonderful mixture, and it makes for a wonderfully decadent dip. Since coriander is so aromatic and lemon is so acidic, they interact really nicely, leading to the perfect dip for nearly any meal! Do bear in mind that you’ll need to grind the whole coriander from our store before using it to spice your hummus. This may seem a little inconvenient, but we’re certain that it will enhance your dish - freshly ground spices always taste brilliant compared to store-bought alternatives!
ROASTED CHICKPEAS
Roasted chickpeas are, in our humble opinion, the ultimate snack! Having them in your kitchen is a great way to avoid snacking on unhealthier things like jerky or potato chips. Instead, you can eat a custom-flavored snack! It’s hard to say where these originate from, since they’re quite a modern invention, and are considered a vegan snack, more than anything. In the modern-day, they likely originate from the US, where a number of vegan chefs experiment to create new options for plant-based eaters. Historically, though, chickpeas have been grown in the middle east for thousands of years - it’s very likely that ancient cooks in that region of the world at least tried to roast chickpeas with their favorite spice blends. To create great roasted chickpeas in your home, we’d recommend looking for a new favorite spice blend. Don’t limit yourself to what the blend suggests you do with it - go wild! We offer a great Malaysia seasoning marinade that would be wonderful on roasted chickpeas - it was created for meat, but really works with roasted chickpeas. The other option we’d suggest is our Vesuvius spice blend! It’s nice and hot, which is ideal for roasted chickpeas, while also leaning into the earthy, simple flavor that chickpeas have. While designed for spare ribs, it truly works on roasted chickpeas! You can combine any spices that you like to create the ideal spice blend for your roasted chickpeas. The only suggestion we would have is that you steer clear of herbs like basil or oregano - since they come from the leaf of the plant, they can burn a little in the oven.
