Accidental Hedonist

It’s that time of year again, when my mind downshifts and I can’t think of (or find) any recipes that interest me. As I am prone to do in such an incident, I tend to go the easy way out and write up a recipe for a salad.

Although many people will disagree with me (and have), I don’t think that the great majority of salads require any skills of note. You get the right amount of ingredients, combine them…and voila! Salad.

It’s a good salad though, and if you like chickpeas, it’s a good way to use them.

• 2 15.5 oz of canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/4 cup de-stemmed and chopped Italian Parsley
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, cored and seeded, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons capers
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine everything but the lemon juice and olive oil. Combine well.

Top with lemon juice and oil and mix carfully.

Serves 4-6

I’ve decided that hummus falls under the heading of “Foods that you should in no way purchase when it’s so bloody simple to make”. Also in this list: Whipped Cream and Guacamole. If you’re buying these three items on a regular basis you should probably re-evaluate just why you’re shopping for these goods.

Like I said, this dish is easy as one can get. I’ve only complicated it by adding the onion and garlic. Without being to self-congratulatory, it’s some of the best hummus I’ve ever had (it appears as if I’ve had my humble bone removed…and we all know how painful that can be).

• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas, drained
• 2 teaspoons of tahini
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• salt, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

Fry the onion and garlic in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook until onions start to carmelize. Take off heat and set aside to cool.

In a food processor, pulse together chickpeas and tahini until you get the consistency you desire (I like my hummus thin and spreadable, I know others who like their hummus chunky). Pour into a mixing bowl and mix in the paprika, pepper, ginger, coriander and salt. Fold in the onions and garlic. Add the lemon juice if you so desire. Refrigerate for an hour or so. Serve with Pita or with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, and whole olives.

Every once in while, while perusing the many, high quality food blogs out there in the world, you may come along an entry that states how disappointed the writer was in the recipe.

This is one of those posts.

What I was trying to make was Aloo Chole. What I got was a distant relative of Aloo Chole.

The fault lies both at my feet and at the product clerk at Larry’s.

My fault was in picking a starchy potato, better designed for baking than cooking in a skillet.

The Produce clerk’s issue was recommending a tomato that had absolutely no taste at all. Okay…that’s more my fault for believing him.

I’m recording this recipe here for posterity, rather than recommendation. Expect a “version 2″ of this recipe in the near future.

• 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes- seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• salt (to taste)
• 2 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 small slice of ginger (about the size of a quarter)
• 2 small jalapeno peppers – seeded chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 medium-sized Potato – diced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas

In a food processor or blender, combine tomatoes, pepper, salt, coriander powder, ginger and jalapeno peppers. Puree until well emulisfied. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and allow to flower in oil for about a minute. Add onions, and cook until translucent, about 10-12 minutes.

To the onions, add the potato, chickpeas and pre-made sauce. Cook over medium low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes to prevent sticking.

Serve over rice.

Serves 4

Well, well, well…a bean for the ages.

Typically, beans are not my favorite of foods. But I’ll make an exception for chickpeas.

I know, I know…I’ve hit the pinnacle of writing when I cheerlead for a legume, but there you have it.

Historians claim that chickpeas originated aroun the Hacilar site near Burdur in Turkey around 7500 years ago. By the Bronze age, both Italy and Greece had the pulse in their diet. Nothing better represents Mediterranean food than the chickpea.

There are two common types of chickpeas: ‘desi’ (small, angular seeds, that are yellow, green, light brown or possibly black in color) and ‘kabuli’ (larger, more rounded or brain-shaped types which are normally beige/buff in color). Desi are mostly found in the Indian subcontinent, Iran, Ethiopia and parts of central America, whereas the kabuli types are commonly found throughout southern Europe, Western Asia, the Nile Valley, North Africa and South America. But there are several other varieties out there.

Chickpease are also known as garbanzo beans, garbanzo being the name used in Spanish speaking countries. The English name chickpea comes from the French chiche, which comes from the Latin cicer.

As you can guess, next on the list of food items is the chickpea. It ain’t always exciting here at the Hedonist, but at least we strive for thoroughness.