If there is a mission that we will never abandon on this ship, it is to promote the consumption of legumes. So after how to cook lentils: what you need to know to prepare the easiest legume from our editor Mònica Escudero, comes “How to cook chickpeas: what you need to know to prepare the most versatile legume”. I say the most versatile because with chickpeas they are made from cooked to spreadable, hamburgers or flour and from salads to soups.
You can cook them long and slow until they are creamy and wonderful in a spoon dish or cook them further al dente for a salad. They are good with very few ingredients and also perfectly accept a good mix of spices, sauces, vegetables or animal products. Have I mentioned that I like chickpeas? I hope you too. And if not, it is that you have not tried the correct recipe yet or that you need to learn how to cook them.
types of chickpeas
We are lucky to have different varieties of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) of very good quality in Spain suitable for all kinds of recipes. Nevertheless, national production supplies 60% of our consumption and the rest is imported from large producers such as Argentina, the United States, Canada or Mexico. Although there is nothing wrong with imported chickpeas, I recommend that, if you have the possibility, you eat national chickpeas: they are more likely to be from the year’s crop –and consequently they take less time to cook and are more tender–, you will be supporting the local economy, a very beneficial crop for the environment and, logically, those chickpeas will not have traveled thousands of kilometers with all that this entails. Now yes, let’s see what types of chickpeas are mainly grown in Spain:
- Pedrosillano: it is usually cultivated in both Castillas and Andalusia. It is a small chickpea compared to other varieties. It is yellow, almost orange, and smooth-skinned. Its cooking time is long and the result is a buttery chickpea that maintains its structure very well.
- Fuentesaúco: it has a Protected Geographical Indication and is grown in the province of Zamora. It is medium to large in size and light yellow, almost beige in color. Its skin is rough and very thin once cooked.
- Milky white: especially popular in Andalusia and Extremadura. It is large, whitish, irregular and somewhat flattened. Once cooked, it is very creamy and stands out for its nutritional richness. Within this variety is the Escacena chickpea with Protected Geographical Indication.
- Andalusian Venous: It is grown in Granada and is perhaps the least popular of the four. It is large, somewhat elongated and smoother skin. Its flavor is slightly more intense and it is usually used in stews and stews.
soaking and cooking
Whichever type of chickpeas you choose, the cooking method is the same: you must first soak them, and then cook them. There are different opinions on the art of soaking, but the general rule is that you should put the chickpeas in water the night before you cook them. You can extend that time up to 24 hours or scald them and shorten it to three.
The thing changes regarding the addition of salt or bicarbonate. Although it is not mandatory to add salt to the soaking water, it can help to soften the skins and, as chef Samin Nosrat explains in Bean there, done that–the first episode of the podcast home cooking, which I recommend that you listen to–, helps significantly to salt the chickpeas from within since it will be the first liquid they absorb. In your case, place one part of chickpeas for three of water with salt and a pinch of bicarbonate in the same pot where you will cook them. In this way, in addition to salting and hydrating the chickpeas, it converts that water, which is also used for cooking, into an alkaline medium (that is, low acid) favoring a creamier final texture of the legume.
I imagine that the curious advice that appears in the book is directed along that same slope of alkalinity. Your kitchen. gastronomy encyclopedia: “to soften the chickpeas well, they are left to soak overnight in water in which spinach has been cooked.” If you try it at home, as the YouTubers say, tell us in the comments.
As for cooking, there are two main options: cook them in a common pot or in a pressure cooker. If you cook them in a common pot you need time. You should keep an eye on them from time to time, but you don’t need to sit and stare at them, so don’t make it an excuse not to eat them. In the case of chickpeas, it is recommended, although not mandatory, to start with warm water. You should bring them to a boil and let them boil for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to a minimum and leave them between 1 and a half and 3 and a half hours, depending on the variety of chickpea you are using and the hardness of the water.
The initial boil favors its structure to break so that they are later more tender, so do not forget to carry it out. If a lot of liquid has been consumed halfway through cooking –water or broth– and you have to add more, make sure it is hot so as not to interrupt the cooking of the legume. If you opt for the pressure cooker, the time is reduced to 20-30 minutes.
To find out if the chickpeas are ready, there is no more mystery than trying them. Try four or five different parts of the pot, and if they’re all just the way you like them, that’s it.
How do I add flavor?
Let’s start with the obvious: with salt. If you have not added it in the soak, do it in the cooking water. Other easy options can be to substitute the water for broth, add whole vegetables or in large pieces such as carrot, onion, leek, celery or garlic, among others, add black peppercorns, cumin, bay leaf or the herbs and spices that you like the most .
The stir-fries are wonderful to brighten up some legumes. Since the cooking time for the chickpeas is long, I am in favor of making the stir-fry on the side and adding it towards the end of the pot. You can prepare it with products of vegetable origin: garlic, onion, tomato, pepper and paprika for an intense stir-fry; garlic, onion, carrot and celery for a sweeter one; leek and carrot for a soft one, etc. using olive oil. Or also add a product of animal origin such as chorizo or diced bacon, taking advantage of its fat without the need to add oil.
Prescriptions
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the chickpea is an extremely versatile legume. You can prepare hot dishes with a spoon, traditional and forceful such as Madrid or Gordonés stew, soup, vigil stew, Rioja-style chickpeas, Canarian ranch, other simpler ones like these stewed chickpeas for lazy people or simply use the formula “chickpeas + sauté + vegetables”, where some spinach or chard fits 5 minutes before the end of cooking; added squash, potato or sweet potato cut into small to medium pieces 30 minutes beforehand; roasted pepper or aubergine once cooked, etc.
Chickpeas are also great for stir-fries. You must drain them before adding them to the pan and you can prepare some with mushrooms and sausages, with peas, mint and egg, with spinach and prawns or with black pudding, apple and pine nuts. As you can see, chickpeas combine well with many ingredients and the combinations are diverse, so don’t hesitate to exploit your culinary creativity. If we go to cold dishes, chickpeas are a very good source of protein in salads, combining them with vegetables, preserves, eggs, cheese, grains, nuts, etc. Some ideas: with egg and spicy vinaigrette, spiced chickpeas, with tomato and anchovies, with escarole and pickled mussels, with cucumber and yoghurt sauce or with potato.
Due to their creaminess they are also a very good base for spreads. You can take the classic hummus as a starting point and tune it up with other ingredients. You can also make different pâtés with the products that you like the most by following the advice given by fellow foodie Claudia Polo in this article.
Conservation: raw and cooked
Use logic and everything will work out. Like most cereals, grains and legumes, chickpeas need to be in a container with a good seal -better if it is airtight- in a dry, cool and dark place. What happens when they are in humid places, surely they already taught you at school, or was it that you never did the experiment of germinating a lentil, a bean or a chickpea? If we are talking about cooked chickpeas, we have two options: firstly, in the fridge, where they can last perfectly for up to four days, either drained or with a little bit of cooking broth (or with the ingredients that you have added to them).
In second place is the freezer, where you can store them portioned in hermetic bags or in Tuppers, with or without cooking broth or with the ingredients that you have put in them, always avoiding freezing potatoes or rice because they acquire a sandy and unpleasant texture when thawed. The frozen option, or that of canned legumes, is very practical if including legumes in your diet seems somewhat tedious due to their cooking time, since you will always have them ready in no time.
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