Chick peas – Grow. Cook. Eat.

April 25, 2011

Fresh Chick Peas

Chick Peas, Garbanzo Beans, Ceci Beans…. The names vary, but the way they’re sold rarely does – dried; dried and then rehydrated in cans; or dried, rehydrated and pureed for hummus. For a few weeks every year, they are available fresh – slightly shriveled green peas encased in an almond shaped pod. Inspired by a lovely dish of scallops and fresh garbanzo beans at Lineage, I bought a pound to experiment at home.

Given the short season of availability of these little treats, the amount of information on the web is relatively limited. Most often (or so it seems) they are steamed or roasted and eaten like edamame at sushi bars. A few websites suggested eating them raw. Raw, they had a crunchy, starchy taste that suggested a brief cooking would enhance their flavor.

As I looked for culinary inspiration, I considered their prevalence in Mexican, MiddleEastern, Indian and North African Cuisine: warm climates around the globe. I opted for Moroccan flavors – riffing on a favorite Harrira Stew; further inspiration coming from the ramps that also looked beautiful.

Have you ever cooked with fresh chick peas?

Seared Sea Scallops with Fresh Chick Peas and Ramp Chermoula

1 pound fresh chick peas, shelled
2 tablespoons butter
1 bunch ramps
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of saffron
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sea scallops
1 tablespoon canola oil
Lemon juice
1 blood orange, sectioned
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, sauté the chick peas in the butter for 3 – 4 minutes, until they are bright green. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Chop the stems of the ramps; set aside the leaves. Mix the ramp stems with the parsley, cilantro, cinnamon, paprika, saffron and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Remove and discard the tough, small muscle that’s attached to the side of the scallop. Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil. Sear the scallops for 3 – 4 minutes until they turn a crispy golden brown. Turn over, and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from pan. To the pan, add the ramp leaves and cook just for a minute until they wilt slightly.
Just before serving, season the chermoula with lemon juice.
Serve the scallops with the chermoula, blood orange ramps and chick peas.

December 15, 2010

Spanish Highlights (Recipe: Chick Pea Spaetzle with Kale and Jamon)

One of the first questions friends asked when I returned from Spain was “What was the best thing you ate?”

I’m not good with that question, though I was able to narrow down 30 meals (and countless dishes) into a top three list.

Easily, the first meal made the list… I arrived in Fuengirola, a non-descript resort town on the Mediterranean Sea at 1pm after 14 hours of travel. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, I knew I the best thing would be to stay awake until at least 10 pm. But all I could manage was a walk along the beach (and I also discovered that napping on the beach is much better than napping in a dark hotel room). Along the beach promenade, I stumbled into a little café displaying impeccably fresh fish. I ordered fried whitebait with lemon. Whitebait is not a specific fish, but a generic term for small, slivery fish that could be fresh (uncured) herring, smelts or anchovies. They are served whole as their size makes the entire fish – from head to tail - edible. These fish were crispy without being greasy, and had a bright taste of lemon that tamed the richness of the fish. With the bright sun, refreshing sea breezes and a crisp glass of white Rioja, I was in heaven.

The second on the list came from a Michelin one-star restaurant in the hill-top town of Ronda. Tragabuches serves multi-course tasting menus in a simply elegant dining room just off the main square. Slowly coddled egg yolk with egg-white foam and cock’s comb were topped with a whiff of truffle. The cock’s comb had the texture of meaty mushrooms – tender, earthy yet firm.

By the time I arrived in Barcelona, a week into my travels, my body craved vegetables. As much as I tried to get my “5-a-day” through the course of my travels, it was not as easy as I would have liked. I picked up fruit at one of the farmers’ markets and headed to dinner. I ordered a dish of chick peas and spinach. It had just enough jamon, olive oil and garlic to give it the Spanish flavor, but packed with enough spinach that I actually felt like I did something good for my body. And I loved every bite. So much so that I went back two days later and ordered it again.

When I returned to Cambridge, I decided to make a variation on that dish. I made spaetzle with chick pea flour and tossed it with chick peas, kale (still growing abundantly in my garden) and bits of jamon bellota.

Chick Pea Spaetzle with Kale and Jamon
2 cups chick pea flour
½ – 1 cup of milk
2 eggs
3 tbs. olive oil
Pinch cayenne
3 cloves garlic
1 cup cooked chick peas
1 bunch kale, coarsely chopped
3 slices jamon or prosciutto, coarsely chopped

Salt pepper and lemon juice to taste.

1.    Make the spaetzle batter: Sift together the flour, salt and cayenne. Whisk in the eggs, 1tbs. olive oil and milk. If the batter is too stiff, add more milk. You want the consistency of pancake batter.
2.    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt.
3.    Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic. When it becomes fragrant, add the ham. Cook for 1 minute before adding the kale and chick peas. Cook until the kale is bright green and wilted. Season with lemon, salt and pepper. Set aside.
4.    When water is boiling, push spaetzle dough through a spaetzle maker or a large whole colander. (You may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your pot). Wait until they float to the top and cook for 3 minute more. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and add them with the chick-pea/kale mixture.
5.    Reheat just before serving.

October 28, 2009

Grow. Kale. Eat. (Recipe: Spicy Fideos)

Given the amount of kale I’ve been cooking lately, I think I should rename my blog, “Grow. Kale. Eat.”

It’s hard to ignore the bushy plot of kale chugging along by the edge of the driveway. I see it every time I pull in. And when I think about cutting back on my grocery bill (you really would be shocked how much one person can spend!), it’s hard to justify purchasing other vegetables when I have so much in my garden. Unfortunately, right now, I just don’t have the variety. The Brussels sprouts are slow to come in, the salad greens aren’t yet producing enough to make a suitable salad, and the leeks just don’t quite count as a serving of vegetable for me.

So I’m eating lots and lots of kale.

When cleaning out my office the other day, I stumble across a recipe from Oleana that I had been intending to make for years! I live just down the street from this James Beard award winning restaurant, and for a while it was practically my second dining room. The Spicy Fideos dish is still one of my favorites! Reading the recipe, it calls for Swiss chard… I decided that Kale would be a suitable substitute, and into the kitchen I went.

The recipe reminds me of Mexican mole (with chocolate and chilies) and Thomas Keller’s Vanilla-Saffron Sauce. It blends all the intoxicating flavors and aromas of both into one luscious broth. The broth is then used to cook the kale, chick peas and noodles.

A few thoughts on the recipe: It recommends cooking the noodles directly in the broth. Too me, the broth became too gummy. I would recommend cooking the noodles for half the recommend time in salted boiling water (you should read Lydia's post about cooking pasta, GREAT tips) and then finish cooking them in the broth. The dish can become quite spicy with the anchos chilies. Because I was serving a few toddlers, I decided to omit the anchos and just added a pinch of cayenne to give it a little depth. And I used my first can of tomatoes for this recipe.

One other digression before I give you the recipe: A while back, I started a list of my ten favorite dishes from Boston-area restaurants. I got distracted, and never gave you my last 2 picks. Well, my friends, this is #9!

Spicy Fideos
(Adapted from Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun)

1 tbs. canola oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Pinch of saffron
¼ cup white wine
1” piece of vanilla bean, split in half
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. ground fennel
1 ancho chili (substitute a pinch of cayenne for a milder sauce)
1 can tomatoes
½ tbs. cocoa powder
4 cups water
1 can chick peas
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard
½ pound angel hair pasta or fideos
Salt and pepper

1. In a large pot, add oil. Sauté onions, garlic and carrots until they begin to soften. Add saffron, vanilla, coriander, fennel and chili. Cook for 1 minute more to aromatize the spice.
2. Deglaze pan with wine and add tomatoes, cocoa powder and water.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
4. Meanwhile, wash kale, and chop.
5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. Crush noodles with your hands. Cook noodles for half of the recommended package time. Drain, rinse under colder water and set aside.
6. Remove vanilla bean. Let broth cool to room temperature (otherwise pureeing it will be challenging)
7. Puree broth until very smooth.
8. Return broth to the pan and reheat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the greens, chick peas and noodles. Cook until the greens are wilted and tender, about 5 minutes.