My Kitchen Essentials: Dried Chickpeas/ Garbanzo Beans

ITEM: Dried Chickpeas/ Garbanzo Beans

WHERE TO FIND: Most Grocery Stores in the Grain and Legume Section

ABOUT: Chickpeas are an ancient legume that have been eaten for thousands of years. They make up a important part of Middle Eastern and Indian Cuisine where they are used in many forms. From whole cooked Chickpeas to flour they create a strong and healthy backbone of a balanced vegetarian diet. They are a very versatile food that is incredibly healthy, packed with protein and a variety of anti-oxidants and other healthy goodness (check out a full profile here)

WHY I KEEP IT AROUND: I keep them around mostly to make hummus. I love homemade hummus as it is so much better than store bought and a lot cheaper too a bag costs about $3 something and makes about 5 or so batches of hummus (I use a modified version of the recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, which also has a great falafel recipe). Chickpeas are also an integral part of making Falafel which are like one of my favorite things ever (nothing like stopping for a $3 falafel sandwich at my favorite place in Brooklyn after a night out). Falafel are not only amazing the day of they are also great to add to salads during the work week to add some depth and excitement to your lunch. They really are not too hard to make either. Once you have some cooked chickpeas they great tossed with a little bit of Olive Oil and spices and added to a lettuce based salad, a grain based salad, or on top of scrambled eggs like I had the other day in the Moroccan Scramble from Five Leaves here in Brooklyn. Chickpeas are endlessly useful and store for a long time. While you can get them precooked and canned I prefer not as I feel they are a bit tinny in taste.

HOW TO PREPARE: Soak in water until they double in size (I usually leave them overnight). Pour out into a pot and cover with about 3″ of water bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. It takes around 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for the chickpeas to cook until they are soft. (If the water boils off when cooking add more as needed).  Once the Chickpeas are soft drain and use in your desired preparation.

REFERENCES:
Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison: “The Legume Family: Chickpeas” pg 376

The Worlds Healthiest Foods: Garbanzo Beans

Jerusalem: A Cookbook: Falafel pg 98, Basic Hummus pg 114

The Mysterious and Delicious Dragonfruit

I used to love the Dried Dragonfruit that Trader Joe’s stocked a few years back and I was so disappointed when it was discontinued. Since their discontinuation I have been meaning to try a fresh one from chinatown but have never gotten around to buying one until recently.

Dragonfruit have a very unique hard to describe taste. When I first had tried the dried variety I did not immediately like them because it was different than other things I have had before but after a little bit the taste grew on me. It is a bit sweet and sour and has notes of kiwi. There are a few varieties out there the most common one I have seen in Chinatown being the pink skin and white flesh variety. If you can find a pink skinned one with red flesh those are sweeter.

Eating Dragonfruit plain is great but it would also be great as an addition to a tropical fruit salad, mixed with some Mango, Kiwi, Starfruit, and Papaya it would be a great addition to a summer barbeque spread or a Sunday brunch (see how to prepare below).

So if you can get your hands on a fresh dragon fruit pick one up and try it out who knows you just might like it.

To prepare to a dragonfruit you basically treat it like an avocado.

First you cut the fruit in half, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon and cut into cubes.

Serve in the shell of the dragonfruit or serve in another vessel.