Easy chick pea recipes please

[UnSerpentQuiCourt]

Trying to reduce our Stored Food Mountain, I have emptied a whole bag of chick peas into water to soak. How can I use them to make easy meal(s)? (Preferably with not too many exotic additions, otherwise I defeat my purposes by having to go out to buy something).

This look good if you have chorizo in your mountain.

Otherwise add them to a tomato, chilli, onion base served with halloumi and crusty bread, works well with spinach added too.

Don't have chorizo, but do have half a salami. which should do. Two nice ideas - thanks!

I did the following yesterday with dried peas, so would think you can substitute them for chick peas.

Soak the peas/chick peas over night in water. Rinse and add to fresh water in a large pan, with two large chopped carrots, two parsnips and two beef stock cubes. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Place in a blender and whiz up. Wash the pan and then put some butter and flour and melt the butter. Return the soup to the pan and warm up and dissolve the flour. I added tarragon as well as salt and pepper, but you can add what you like.

Nice in a casserole with pork, tomatoes, red peppers/smoked paprika.

Make a tomato sauce then add chickpeas and roasted aubergine chunks.

Veg soup + chickpeas + dollop of pesto and nice bread.

Chickpea & sweet potato curry.

Chickpeas & spinach as a side dish/main dish is lovely - recipe from Moro is my favourite.

Houmous (spelling?) - 2 cups soaked chickpeas, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 clove garlic + dash of soy. Blitz in blender (smooth or coarse). Serve w salad in pitta breads.

Amazingly healthy (the raw olive oil) and tasty!

I shall print these all off and keep them - at this rate I will be buying more chick peas so that I can try them all out!

Houmous (as per misscph), Tomato & chorizo casserole (New COvent Garden recipe), Fiery chickpea salad (Ainsley recipe), Squash & chickpea dhansak

Let me know if you want any of the recipes and i will try and dig them out

Chickpea, chorizo & spinach stew is lovely! Probably not going to be much use to you today as it needs bits and pieces that you may not have but it's definitely worth trying if you start having chickpeas regularly.

Crispy - I'd love your recipe for squash and chickpea dhansak, if you can be bothered please.

Chicken Dhansak

1 tablespoons groundnut or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic
3cm ginger, chopped
1 red chilli
½ bunch coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
4 chicken breasts chopped into pieces
1 x 400g can tinned tomatoes
200ml chicken stock
150g red lentils
salt and pepper

Firstly make the curry paste by putting all the paste ingredients into a blender and blitzing until smooth. Heat a wok or deep frying pan and throw in the paste. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add the chicken to the pan and continue to stir fry until the chicken is coated in the paste and begins to go slightly golden. Pour over the tomatoes, stock and lentils, give a good stir and cook slowly for 30 minutes. You want the sauce to be thickened and reduced and the lentils to be plump and soft. Season with salt and pepper.

belligerent Above is the chicken recipe i have C&P'd which i then just altered to make vegetarian. For the vege version, i steamed cubes of an orange variety squash until just cooked (could replace with sweet potato i guess) and then added that and a tin of chickpeas to the sauce 5 mins before the end of cooking. Also used veg stock instead of chicken, obv. My Vege friend said it was delicious and i don't think she was being polite

Thank you. I see that it has tinned tomatoes in it though and since these are the Food Of Satan, do you think it would be okay to leave them out and use extra stock or something?

LOL @ food of Satan . I presume you mean the fact that they are tomatoes rather than just tinned? I would leave out but not add more stock as it would be too thin. I would add something like okra or aubergine though as it may be a bit 'lacking' if you have nothing. Or try it and see. Always plenty of opportunities for sampling different curries IMO

Ta - don't like okra or aubergine either though! I could add squash AND sweet potato. I also thought that dhansak usually had some fruit in it, usually pineapple?

Falafel- mash them up with flour, salt, lemon juice, garlic and chopped coriander- roll into balls, roll in sesame seeds and fry for a few minutes.

I do an aubergine and tomato sauce and yoghurt to have with.

I don't think so, Dhansak normally just signifies Lentils to me, however i am sure pineapple could be added for a fussy bint you

There is a great Waitrose recipe card that uses a tin (but you could substitute) of chickpeas. Chicken with cous cous. Have a look on their website.

Arf- maybe leave off the aubergine and tomato sauce, eh?

Ooh yes, i forgot about falafel - love them too! I like the sound of your sauce tethersend....

Thank you crispy. You can come for tea.

Sorry Crispy - it sounds lovely now! :)

Falafel - yum.

Also - tagine. Cook your chickpeas.

In a huge pan, fry some oniion and garlic then add cinammon, paprika, ginger and honey and a splurge of lemon juice. Add lots of veggies (I use potatoes, carrots, peppers, cabbage, green beans usually) and the drained chickpeas then cook in the oven for ages in vegetable stock. Serve with harissa and cous cous. Yum.

All sounding very good.