Roasted Fresh Garbanzo Beans

Every now and then, my wonderful supermarket in Chicago features a new item that I had never even pondered before. Recently, it was fresh garbanzo beans.

What? Huh? You mean they exist in a form other than dehydrated and buff-colored?

Apparently, yes. You can harvest them from the bean stalk and eat them in a form that doesn't require 90 minutes of boiling after an overnight soak.

But, what to do with them? Thirty minutes of online sleuthing showed me that most gringos haven't the faintest idea of what to do with them. Here is what I learned:

Fresh garbanzo beans are seasonal and often found in ethnic grocery stores in major metropolitan areas; they may appear for just 1-2 weeks.
Fresh garbanzo beans can be cooked and whirred up for a spread, or, left in the pod and eaten like edamame.
Fresh garbanzo beans are to be roasted, toasted, or fried, but never boiled. I could not find out why, and didn't have any left to try to ruin on purpose. Do they get gross and stringy like okra? I don't know. I wound up with a version that I found so tasty, that I wound up eating the entire passle I brought home from the grocery.

I hope you have a chance to try these! Not only were they a tasty appetizer (truth be told, I had them for my entire dinner). But, they were eminently beautiful to photograph!

Toasted Fresh Garbanzo Beans

Fresh garbanzo beans, rinsed, left in their pods
Olive oil
Garam masala
Salt
Coriander seed (whole)
Cumin seed (whole)
Sesame seed (I used black)

Heat olive oil in a skillet until hot. Add fresh garbanzo beans, in their pods. Cook for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle garam masala and salt over top.

Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin and sesame seeds and cook another 3 minutes. Pour into a bowl and eat like edamame -- picking up each pod and squirting the bean into your mouth. Be sure to lick your fingers and the pod to get the full effect of the flavoring!

Comments

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

This dish is delicious! Easy! And, beautiful to look at! The original recipe calls for you to process all the cooked vegetables together into a chunky salsa, but I recommend serving it as is so you have an automatic side dish. The original also calls for cooking chicken bone-in, but, the more I cook traybakes, the more I advocate for slicing chicken into tenders and cooking boneless. Just a safer bake that way because everything comes to the same temperature at the same time. Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa Milk Street 1 T chili powder 2 poblano, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 yellow onion, root end intact, in 8 wedges 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1/4 c olive oil 1 T brown sugar 1 T oregano, dried 3 lb chicken, bone-in, skin-on, trimmed 10 cloves garlic, peeled 1 T vinegar 1/4 c cilantro, chopped Heat oven to 450. In small bowl, stir together chili powder and 2 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss together pobloanos, onion wedges, tomatoes, and 1 T of the chili-power...

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking. Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take...

Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche

This "quiche" is so simple to make - you can prepare everything the night before, assemble it in the morning, and have it ready to go soon after waking up. An ideal dish to serve company, too. Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche The Garden of Earthly Delights 1 1/2 c water 3/4 c couscous, uncooked 3 eggs, beaten 1 bunch spinach 3/4 c cottage cheese 2 c cheddar cheese, shredded 3 T salsa 1 tsp chile powder 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp pepper Preheat oven to 375. Lightly coat a 9" pie plate with vegetable oil and set aside. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add couscous. Stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of the pie plate. Placein oven and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Donut Army

Search This Blog