Fresh Fruit and Veg Month: Chickpea Soffrito

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June is National Fruit and Veg Month.

June is designated as National Fruit and Vegetable Month. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), more Americans than ever — 28 percent — are adjusting their eating habits to achieve healthier lifestyles.

This post is coming a little late (the blog event was scheduled for June 1st, ahh!) but late is better then never, right?

The motherload! Chickpea Soffrite via gourmet.com

I’ve had this bag of dried chickpeas floating around my house for yonks, so I decided it was time to do something with them!  They were actually kind of intimidating.  I’d heard how much tastier freshly cooked ones are compared to canned, but I’d also heard lots of horror stories about overcooking them or pots boiling over or just generay mayhem.  Luckily with the support of gourmet.com and my good friend over at SweetFernHandmade, I got over it and boiled my first pot of beans!

With no more ado, the recipe, via Gourmet.

Chickpea Soffritto

Serves6 (side dish)

• Active time:30 min
• Start to finish:10 hr (Includes soaking chickpeas)

RODNEY DUNN,THE AGRARIAN KITCHEN, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA

April 2009

You’d never guess that these simple ingredients could produce such a delicious dish, not to mention one you can easily pull together from things you probably already have on hand. Keep a stash of cooked chickpeas in your fridge and you’ll be able to whip up this soffritto on demand. It’s great tossed in pasta, too.

• 3/4 lb dried chickpeas (1 1/2 cups), picked over
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
• 6 celery ribs, finely chopped (3 cups)
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped

• Accompaniment:

  lemon wedges

• Generously cover chickpeas with water and soak at least 8 hours; or quick-soak (see cooks’ note, below). Drain.
• Generously cover soaked chickpeas with water in a 4- to 5-qt pot and simmer, partially covered with lid, adding more water if necessary, until tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain.
• Heat 1/2 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook onions, garlic, fennel seeds, and rosemary with 1/2 tsp sea salt, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add chickpeas, remaining 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 tsp sea salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Cooks’ note: To quick-soak chickpeas, cover with water by 2 inches in a medium pot and bring to a boil, then boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and soak, covered, 1 hour. Drain, discarding water.

Although a little time consuming, I found this dish to be very much worth it.  It’s extremely flexible.  I ate it over pasta (tasty), over couscous (even tastier), and tossed in soup.  It would probably be great mashed and fried in cakes too.  I was a little worried about the fennel because I’m not a big anise fan, but the combination of herbs was strong but well-balanced, not overwhelming at all.  Also don’t be afraid of the amount of olive oil, it’s totally called for and binds the flavors on the dish together.

~MS the Yunger (and hungrier!)

PS:  The New York Times has a really great feature on how to freeze foodstuffs, and their tips for cooked beans are especially useful.  Also, SweetFern also has a nice, easy recipe for Chickpea Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts and she posted recently.  Go check it out!

PPS:  What are your favortite ways to use chickpeas?  I’ve still got a bunch in the freezer needing love.  Send your suggestions/recipes my way!

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Filed under Food, Life, Recipes, cooking

Tags: chickpeas, Food, fruit and vegetable month, gourmet, Recipes, soffrito, vegetarian