Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit

An Ode to Garbanzo Beans

Oh thou glorious bean

How can I say what you mean

To the hungry herbivore?

When I go to the store

I buy more and more.

The things you can do with a chickpea!

I prepare with glee

Hummus for me

And falafel to pass around.

This bean can be found

By ounces and pounds

In pastas and veggie sauté.

There will ne’er come a day

When I tire or say,

“No more chickpeas for me!”

Everyone must see

The beauty that be

In the great garbanzo bean.

But seriously, garbanzo beans are the best.  I did not truly appreciate the chickpea until I focused in earnest on healthy vegetarian cooking.  It is quite possible to eat an unhealthy vegetarian diet, and I must admit, when I first transitioned, I ate too much dairy, pasta, and dessert to make any health claims about my diet.  My excuse was that I was limited to cafeteria food, and since I have been able to cook for myself more, I have discovered the joys of healthy vegetarian options.  Especially beans.  Beans are the perfect food bundle.  They are loaded with protein and healthy nutrients, high fiber, and relatively low fat, of the unsaturated variety.  They are versatile, taste delicious, and come in lots of fun varieties.  Beans are also dirt-cheap, especially if you buy dried beans, which are a little more labor-intensive, but usually well under a dollar a bag.  Canned beans are also very affordable. 

The garbanzo bean, also known as the chickpea, is one of my favorites.  I first realized the power of the chickpea when I started to eat hummus (back in the cafeteria days, where they served hummus from Woody’s Oasis).  Hummus is essentially ground-up chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame seeds), garlic, lemon juice, and various additional flavoring.  The possibilities are endless, though I am partial to red pepper hummus.  Garbanzo beans are also found in falafel, a delicious Middle Eastern specialty (if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do!).  They can be ground up into flour for gluten-free dishes (although baked goods made with chickpea flour are rumored to taste slightly fishy).  I also find garbanzo beans delicious in their un-ground state in pasta, sautéed with vegetables, in soup, or cold on salads.  And don’t worry, your digestive system soon adjusts to eating lots of beans.

Below are some of my favorite chickpea recipes, for both vegetarians and omnivores.    Most of these recipes involve a food processor, which I discovered is almost a necessity to vegetarian cooking.  However, a blender usually is a good substitute.

Chicken-Butternut Squash Soup

(Better Homes and Gardens)

This is a good dish if you are cooking for a mixed crowd of vegetarians and omnivores.  Just serve the chicken as an add-in and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

1 ¼ lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut in ¾-inch pieces (4 cups)

1 small red onion, cut in ½-inch wedges

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 14-oz. cans chicken or veggie broth

1 15-26 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup dried apricots, snipped

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp. olive oil

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 deli-roasted chicken

Fresh cilantro leaves

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. In shallow roasting pan toss squash and onion with curry powder and the 1 tablespoon oil.  Roast, uncovered, 20 minutes or until tender.  Reduce oven tem to 350°F.

2. In 4-qt Dutch oven combine roasted vegetables, broth, beans, and apricots.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, covered, 10 minutes.  Cool about 5 minutes.  Transfer half the soup to food processor or blender.  Cover; process or blend until smooth.  Return to Dutch oven; heat through.

3. Meanwhile, in bowl toss walnuts with 1 tsp oil and the nutmeg.  Spread nuts on baking sheet.  Bake 7 minutes or until golden and toasted.  Reheat chicken according to package directions, if needed.

4. To serve, top soup with nuts, chicken, and cilantro.

Hummus

(Vegetarian Times)

3 cups cooked chickpeas, or 2 15-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained twice, hot or warmed in microwave

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup tahini

Purée warm chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, and 2/3 cup water in food processor 3 to 4 minutes, or until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary. Add tahini, and purée 2 minutes, or until mixture has consistency of soft cream cheese, adding 1 to 2 Tbs. water, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Enjoy with pita chips (I recommend Stacy’s Pita Chips).

Spaghetti with Chunky Tomato Sauce

(Vegetarian Times)

8 oz. (2 cups) sliced white mushrooms

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into chunks

1 large leek, white part cut into chunks

2 Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

2 Tbs. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 15-oz. can, rinsed and drained)

1/4 cup red wine

8 cups baby spinach leaves

8 oz. spaghetti

1. Place mushrooms, bell pepper, and leek in bowl of food processor. Pulse until ingredients are coarsely chopped.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add mushroom mixture and garlic, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened and most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes, and cook 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and wine, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
3. Cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach, and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, or until spinach has wilted.
4. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Serve spaghetti topped with sauce. 

Chickpea, Asparagus, and Corn Sauté

(Weight Watchers)

This is a recipe that is easily adaptable and open to experimentation.  I make it frequently and it’s never the same twice.  My favorite variation is adding swish chard in with the asparagus. 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (or thawed frozen)

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 (11 1/2 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, until bright green, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus are tender, about 2 minutes.

6. Remove the skillet from the heat; stir in the tomatoes, onion, basil, salt and pepper.

7. Serve right away or at room temperature, over brown rice, if desired.

I realize this post has been pretty vegetarian.  So I will briefly relate my recent meat-eating adventures.  We had lamb yesterday for Sunday lunch, and it was delicious!  We were trying to figure out why lamb is not very popular in the American diet, but came to no definite conclusions.  If anyone has any answers to this, feel free to share!  I am quite fond of lamb, though, and Rob has promised me even better lamb chops straight from Muscle in My Arm Farm when I visit over winter break.  Can’t wait!  Until then, you all can have this song going through your head too.