Chickpea salad (revamped)

This is my old picture. It didn't look much different so, I was lazy. Sue me.

This recipe originally appeared on the Kitchn, as "Chickpea of the Sea".I was generally okay with it the first time I tried it, but it was a bit too sour for me. Here is the latest version, which I was happier with:

Chickpea Salad:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. drained plain (unsweetened) yogurt*
• 1/2 tsp. whole grain mustard
• 1 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar
• 2 slices white onion, cut in half
• garlic powder, salt, and hot pepper flakes (to taste)

Pulse the chickpeas, spices, vinegar, onion and mustard in your food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until mixed. Spoon onto a layer of lettuce on your bread of choice. Top with thinly-sliced tomatoes. This made three servings for my appetite.

This was milder than the previous version and I felt that the sour flavors of mustard and vinegar didn't overwhelm the chickpeas as they did last time. I felt that having less vinegar and mustard and more hot pepper flakes (I used a 1/2 tsp.), salt, and garlic worked better - more flavor, less sourness.

I had this as an open-face sandwich and it was quite tasty. One-quarter of the batch was a good serving for me. I did a rough calorie calculation and this is about 175 calories per serving.

*drained yogurt is plain yogurt that has been put in a coffee filter and suspended such that most of the liquid drains off.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Chickpea Salad (aka faux tuna salad)

This picture looks dark, but it is actually one of the most authentic pictures in terms of representing the true colors of the food that I've ever taken. You may applaud my honesty.

I found this recipe on the Kitchn, and I must say that the part of this which is trying to ape a tuna salad (and calling it "Chickpea of the Sea") seemed a little silly to me. I guess vegetarians may want to emulate the flavor of tuna salad, but I'm content to just eat real tuna. That being said, I do love chickpeas and this presentation of them was intriguing. Also, the case of 24 cans of chickpeas that I bought a year or so ago is still lingering. I had two or three cans left and this seemed like a good way to work on them before they rusted into disuse.

Chickpea Salad (modified from the recipe linked above):

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. plain (unsweetened) yogurt
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar (I used 1.5 as the original recipe said, but it was too much)
• 3-4 tablespoons chopped green onion
• black pepper, garlic powder, salt, and hot pepper flakes (to taste)

Pulse the chickpeas in your food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until mixed. Spoon onto a layer of lettuce on your bread of choice. Top with thinly-sliced tomatoes. This made three servings for my appetite.

I liked this, but really wished I hadn't followed the original recipe's vinegar recommendations. The vinegar was so strong that it overpowered many of the other flavors. The original used umeboshi vinegar, but I can't be bothered to track down and buy a bottle of special vinegar just for a sandwich recipe. The umeboshi vinegar is supposed to add the saltiness of tuna to this, but I just added, well, salt. I also put quite a lot of pepper and hot pepper in mine, but felt more would have been better.

Next time (and there will be a next time), I'll go with 1 tbsp. of vinegar. I also may reduce the mayonnaise to 1 tbsp. and use 3 tbsp. yogurt because even diluted 50%, I thought the mayonnaise flavor was quite present.


by Shari (Orchid64)

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

About 8 months ago, I bought a case of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) because it was about 50% cheaper to get them by the boatload. This was a case with 24 cans and I knew I'd have to eat them all myself because my husband won't eat any sort of bean. I've used them in a lot of recipes (though the majority have gone into hummus), and this is one of my favorites.

I didn't base this on any existing recipe, but was inspired to give it a try after reading a review for vegetarian shepherd's pie on the "Heat and Eat Review" site. I figured that I'd just do what I normally did for the same dish with meat with possibly a few alterations to make up for the lack of savory flavors, so this was essentially made up on the fly, but worked very well.

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/3 large carrot, sliced and diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 beef or vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup very hot water
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. cold water
• salt (to taste - about 1/2 tsp., but it depends on your bouillon)
• 3-5 cups mashed potatoes (I used instant mashed potatoes)
• 1/2-1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp. Canola oil

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is warmed and coats the bottom of the pan evenly, add the garlic and onions. Saute them until the onions are softened then add the pepper and carrot. Cook the vegetables for about 5-10 more minutes until the pepper is a little wilted looking. Stir in the chickpeas and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes to get the temperature of all of the ingredients to about the same level.

Add the water with the dissolved beef bouillon cube and the Worcestershire sauce. If you want to add tomato paste (I didn't, but mainly because I forgot to do so), add it now. Stir, cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer until the carrots are cooked. Depending on how much liquid remains, you'll have to either remove the lid and allow some of it to boil off or just use it as is. The liquid amount factors into how much "gravy" you get. If you want less, let more boil off. If you want more, add in more water.

Reduce the heat to low and slowly add about half of the dissolved cornstarch. As it heats, it will thicken. Stir in as much of the cornstarch as seems necessary to get the desired thickness. If it becomes too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, pour in more cornstarch. Taste and salt as necessary.

When the chickpea mixture is done, spoon it into a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the chickpea mixture and sprinkle with cheese. The quantity of potatoes you'll need varies based on the size of your dish and how thinly you want them layered. If you use glass, you can heat the pie in the microwave until the cheese is melted. If you use metal, you'll have to bake it at 350 degrees until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is melted.

by Shari (Orchid64)