Chickpeas - ideas please

[FoxesBisQuit]

I am the only one in our house who likes chickpeas and after years of not buying them, I’m making an effort to eat more of what I like. I am not a brilliant cook, and don’t have a lot of time, so looking for chickpea recipe ideas. Curries that I can make quickly and easily. Bit overwhelmed with all the recipes online, so hoping some tried and tested ideas come through.

I also like butter beans but other than salads, don’t know what to do with them. What are your favourite recipes?

Ooh. You need Ottolenghi’s tandoori chickpea recipe.

Roasting chickpeas in oil and spice means you can eat them but others don’t have to. Ditto hummus for lunch? Otherwise throw them in any meal you’re making at all. They’re really versatile. Butter beans I serve in quiche or salad.

This is very tasty:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/kadala-curry

Hummus - tin chick peas olive oil lemon juice tahini garlic 😋

RecipeTinEats has brilliant chickpea recipes- here are three absolute winners :) I have made each of them and they are delicious.

https://www.recipetineats.com/melting-afghani-chickpea-curry/

https://www.recipetineats.com/brazilian-chickpea-curry/

https://www.recipetineats.com/tzatziki-chickpea-salad/#wprm-recipe-container-154138

You can add them to chicken soup

Jamie Oliver has a quick recipe which he calls ‘the best vegan burger’ made with chickpeas. It’s my DC’s favourite veggie burger.

This is one of the quickest and easiest dinners I make on a regular basis https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/aloo-gobi-traybake.html

I sometimes splurge and buy Bold Bean Queen Chick peas in a jar. Way superior to tinned (which Inalso love btw).

Fry onion and garlic, add chickpeas and a bit of sundries tomato paste, bit of parsley and top with feta - really nice quick lunch.

Butter beans

I hope you are a meat eater and have a small slow cooker.

Pork ribs in a strip
Passata
tin of butter beans
Seasonings of choice.

Pu the pork ribs in the slow cooker around the edge, add the passata in the middle and then drain and add the beans. Cook until the bones slip out of the pork.

I sometimes add peperoni cubes too.

I make this regularly and recently did a quicker version of it, used the same spices in a pan, with the chickpeas and some tomatoes but not many, cooked it down and then added some cream cheese and green beans during the last cooking minutes.

Freezes well, my quick version and the original.

I second the Ottolenghi tandoori chickpea recipe.

I too love butter beans and this Ottolenghi recipe is easy and very tasty

I use tinned for both recipes

Dry them on kitchen paper, cost lightly in olive oil and your choice if spice blend then bake or air fry till crunchy, they make a great salad topper.

Make your own hummus or falafel. Falafel pittas are lovely with a minty yogurt dressing, salad and ribbons of sweet juicy carrot.

Any sort of curry.

I put them in Chilli along with kidney beans to stretch the meat out.

Italian Chickpeas and pasta. Pasta ai ceci.
2 portions (even better reheated) using 1 can chickpeas, 1 stock cube and 2 egg pasta nests, salt, black pepper and olive oil.

Drain the chickpeas and blitz half with 500ml stock. Crush the pasta to spoonable pieces. Heat the remaining chickpeas and the pasta in the stock until it’s your preferred consistency, salt and pepper to taste.
Do not drain.
Eat like thick soup with cold olive oil and extra pepper.
Some people add Parmesan cheese but not me.

Edit: probably a bit more liquid during cooking. I’m lazy and make it in the microwave!

Nothing to add sorry but yum

harissa butter beans are really good

Stir fry a red onion, add some crushed garlic and 2 sliced peppers, stir fry for a couple of mins then add a tin of tomatoes and 250ml of veg stock. Let this simmer for about 10-15mins then add half a jar of rose harissa, a splash of balsamic vinegar and tin of butter beans. Simmer for 5 mins then add chopped parsley and serve with crumbled feta. Works well with couscous, flatbread or even with poached egg.

if you find the jarred chick peas which are really chunky then google “Jamie Oliver summer chickpea salad” it’s really good!

I found it https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/summer-chickpea-salad/

I suggest you treat yourself to a jar of chick peas, butter beans and anything else you fancy from the Bold Bean company. If you don't eat them all in one go, you can freeze them.

Not cheap, but often on offer and much nicer than the canned varieties if this is what you're buying. Also look at their website for recipes.

I saw butter beans and chorizo on a menu at a tapas bar, I didn't have it but planned to make my own. Its probably just the chorizo fried then add the beans and garlic and possibly a bit of stock. Maybe some olive oil too and served with crusty bread.

But well done on making an effort to eat more food you like. It saddens me how many women seem to tie themselves in knots catering for fussy DC and male partners who expect big meaty meals every day and somehow rarely eat the food they prefer, despite being the one who does the lion's share of the thinking, planning, shopping, budgeting, leftover management and clearing up associated with providing food for a family.

I absolutely agree with @Bjorkdidit about treating yourself to the Bold Bean Co if you can - they’re a totally different beast (you might even get other members of your family to like these ones!)

Re recipes the Bold Bean Co has some great ones on their website, I also use Mob Kitchen a lot for bean & chickpea recipes but some of their stuff is behind a paywall now, but definitely worth a look as a lot are still free.

A few other recipes we love in this household are:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-lamb-meatball-stew

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/smoky-hake-beans-greens

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/baked-rainbow-trout-butter-bean-gratin/

www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/paprika-chicken-with-spanish-style-chickpeas/

Another Bold Bean fan! They really are a cut above tinned - yum!

Jamie for the win, as always. this looks great. I wouldn't eat it as a main meal because although I love chickpeas... only as a side piece - but it would be an amazing salad with my next BBQ!!!

I make hummus a lot with chickpeas or butterbeans. It's really easy once you sort of get the hang of what your personal preference is. I use tinned chickpeas/butterbeans and I reserve some of the liquid from the tin when I drain them. Then I put the chickpeas/beans in my blender with about 1/4 of the reserved liquid (to start), one chopped garlic clove (confit garlic is great if you have it for this and/or add additional garlic), the juice of half a lemon (to start), couple of tablespoons of tahini and some olive oil. Add an ice cube and a generous sprinkling of salt and blend. Then basically, adapt to taste - often I find it needs more olive oil and lemon juice and salt and if it's too thick, I add more of the reserved liquid. You can also flavour it with some cumin or harissa paste, or even some chillis for a bit of heat.

Chickpea and lamb casserole - flavoured with warm spices like cinnamon, star anise, cumin - is a favourite too.

I also toast them sometimes and leave them out as a crispy snack - air fryer works well for this. I like to flavour them with smoked paprika and cumin. Top tip is to get them as dry as possible first before you cook them - so drain, rinse and leave spread out on towels.

We eat a lot of chickpeas, few things I do below
Quick Chickpea curry - onion, garlic, spices, yoghurt or coconut milk
Traybake curry with beetroot
Roasted carrots and chickpeas with Ras al hanout and honey

@SpaceOP100% it’s a staple for us in the summer, it’s a great bbq salad and I often have it for lunch with a slice of sourdough.

Seconded. One of my all time favourites!

We make this all the time - even in summer - it is like a warm hug in a bowl.
Beware: hot tinned cherry tomatoes have the heat of a million suns, break them in your bowl and let them cool before attempting to eat

We don't bother with the burnt chard

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for rose harissa chickpea stew with burnt chard | Vegan food and drink | The Guardian

Besides salads and curries, I mostly eat chickpeas with pasta, tomato sauce, olives and spinach.

Butter beans are nice braised with anchovies, garlic, tomatoes and rosemary then eaten with crusty bread and some green veg. Well done for eating beans, your family is missing out !