Legume
Chickpeas
Also called garbanzo beans
A beige pulse with a firm skin and a nutty centre, sold dried or cooked in tins. They are the body of hummus and falafel; the cooking liquid, aquafaba, can whip like egg white.
Origin
Domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and still central to Levantine, North African and South Asian pots. Spanish garbanzos and Italian ceci are the same plant.
Flavour
Earthy and faintly sweet when simmered long enough. Undercooked chickpeas taste chalky; overcooked ones collapse but still hold a beany warmth.
How to use it
Soak dried chickpeas overnight, then simmer with a pinch of bicarbonate if you want softer skins for hummus. Salt once they begin to tenderise, not at the first boil. Tinned chickpeas are honest weeknight cooking: rinse if the brine tastes metallic, then warm them in the sauce. For falafel, dry soaked beans thoroughly and grind them raw โ cooked mash makes leaden fritters. Save a splash of cooking liquid to loosen hummus instead of flooding it with oil. A bay leaf and onion in the pot are worth the extra minute.
Storage
Dried beans keep a year airtight; very old ones never soften. Cooked beans last three days in the fridge, covered in their liquor.
Recipes using it
Checking your allergy settingsโฆ
