These are fresh chickpeas, or garbanzo beans which we bought at a farmer's market. They're so cute I just had to buy them, the bean is about the size of an English garden pea, each one tucked away in it's own little hull. The woman who I bought them from said that people boil or steam them and eat them like edamame, which is fine, but I thought that since I had a wealth of knowledgeable foodies at my fingertips, I'd ask you. Has anyone out there had the pleasure of cooking these? What would you do with them? I'm thinking of steaming and then roasting for some added sweetness.
"Cooking is an ode to repetition - not for lack of imagination, but as a quest for perfection."
-- Chef Santi Santamaria
The texture of the bean was different than I expected and I don't think that it would have morphed into a hummus well.
If you ever have a chance to buy these little babies please do!
I'm assuming that is the same process as used for edamame. I don't really like edamame, but it might be a reaction to a past experience when I was stranded in a field of soybean for way too long with nothing to eat... so we ate the raw soybeans. I thought I was going to explode later... so I have this uncontrollable wretch reaction when I see edamame.
Maybe that was TMI, IDK.
Anyway, I would have advised you to do pretty much what you did. I've never had fresh chick peas, but I regularly use them dried or canned. One of my favourites is to boil them in water to which I've added salt and turmeric. When tender, I quickly drain them and while hot, sprinkle with ground chilli, ground cumin, lemon juice, and a little salt if necessary. Give them a toss to coat, and serve . I quite ofen play around with different spices and blends. Garam masala with a good curry powder works well, as does a Cajun spice blend.
I once used a dukkah which turned out quite well. I'd love to try the fresh ones.
CCCBrian.
I came, I saw, I cooked it.
The flavor profile that you use is perfect for a roasted bean, which is what I wanted to do with these fresh lovelies, but reading your ingredients, I can see that your flavors, with my technique may be just the crunchy, nutty, snacky thing that I was trying for, so thanks Brian!
I'm picturing starting with a dried bean and I like the turmeric idea, where it goes into the water. The color must be really something to see! Have you ever tried roasting them?
No Nina. It's never even occurred to me to bake them (what a dill!) but it seems like a great idea with lots of possibilities.
Do you have any particular procedure or do I just follow my nose?
BTW, sorry about your PC. They're like cars in that when they work they are a wonderful invention, and when they don't, you just want to throw them out, through the nearest window!
Don't you mean "Windows"?
Unfortunately, I know more about computers than I do about food. So with that, you may want to look and see if you have gotten a rootkit virus. Norton, and McAfee do a terrible job at detecting and cleaning these. The only product that I have found that can detect and clean rootkits is Kaspersky. As a matter of fact I removed McAfee from my work computer and added Kaspersky after I had a similar experience to the one you described. Since I work as a network engineer, my computer is my lifeline.
@Nina
It's a shame that it would not have turned into a good hummus. The best hummus I ever had was in Iraq of all places, on Camp Victory in Baghdad. I have yet to find anyone here in the States that could make it as good, store bought or fresh. Hate to say it, but that is one thing that I really miss about being out there, the hummus.
Eager to learn, eager to eat.
Bill Hatcher
About the hummus.....did you get the recipe?
Unfortunately no, there was a bit of a language barrier. :)
G'day Bill.
I discovered that the problem was related to iTunes, and occurred only when my iPod was connected. Norton finished up writing a rule for my firewall and everything seems to be alright now; however, I still don't know what the problem was (is?) or why it's suddenly occurred now, when they've worked happily together in the past.
Thanks for the insight into the possible problem. I'm going to follow up on that, and sus out Kaspersky as well: I'm just not happy not knowing what's going on.
Anyway, at least, for now, I can download Chef's videos.