Mr. Garbanzo, you’re looking good.

Maybe you guessed from the title, but now it’s official! My favourite bean ever is the chick pea. Yay! Woohoo! Applause! So many different ways to eat it, in some curry; make some hummus; spice it up!

Here are my two favourite ways to eat Mr. Garbanzo Bean. Unfortunately I don’t have any hummus recipes that I’ve tested out yet. So this is it for now:

Chickpea Curry (Originally adapted from a Patak’s Butter Chicken Paste recipe)

2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. vegetable oil or vegan margarine
1 (540ml) can chick peas, drained and rinsed*
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped

Spices of your liking: I like chilli powder and dill weed. The recipe recommends fresh cilantro and mint. (Bleh)

1 green chilli pepper, cut length wise; if you have it.
1/2 tsp. raw sugar.

Heat vegetable oil in frying pan over medium-high heat.

Fry onions until soft, add tomatoes and reduce heat.

Add green chilli pepper and chick peas. Mix with curry powder. Season with spices & herbs. Stir in sugar & serve.

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I don’t mention cooking times because they never work out for me, especially when frying. So use your own judgement and don’t ignore the pan!

Roasted Chickpeas (From Alive magazine)

500ml cooked chickpeas (or one can, drained & rinsed*)
1 Tbsp. mustard (not the prepared-yellow kind,  although I did use that too.)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon ( I don’t now how much that is measured out, because we didn’t have fresh lemons lying around. If anyone finds out, be sure to tell me!)
1 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
Chipotle pepper to taste

Preheat oven 375 F

Toss chickpeas with mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices in a 8x8 inch dish. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Montreal Steak Seasoning (Alive magazine)
No steaks harmed in the making of this seasoning. (I have to tell it to myself.)

2 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. coriander
1 Tbsp. dill
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes

Store in glass jar with airtight lid.

When buying onion and garlic powders in the store, bypass the onion and garlic salt. This will help you avoid overly salty food and still have delicious, savoury dishes. This warning comes from experience.

*Remember to always rinse your chickpeas after soaking them. The water they are in can cause digestive upsets (gas) when used in cooking.  As if beans weren’t bad enough!

Happy chickpea cooking!