It’s not that I totally hate them! I absolutely love hummus and the fried chick peas I’ve enjoyed at restaurants. Other than that, well they have that same mealy texture that I hate in lima beans. It’s simply a texture thingy. I like most other dried beans, just to set the record straight!
So…a few days ago, when my very talented neighbour, Chef Andrea, whom I have come to trust, regarding foods I have not developed an appreciation for previously, fava beans, for instance, presented me with some fresh chickpeas, I thought OK, I’ll give them a try. She got me with the fava’s too! I can guarantee, though, she won’t ever get me to like oysters or salmon or anchovies!
I decided to make them into a salad. So, I blanched them in salted water for a minute or so, drained them and cooled them under running cold water.
Then I made a lemon-oregano dressing. To the bowl of chickpea’s I threw in some halved cherry tomatoes from the garden, very thinly sliced red onion I got at Trout Lake Farmer’s Market from the “Stein Mountain” stall, added a handful of a wild variety of arugula from our garden and voila, ecco la insalata (here’s the salad).
I have to say here and now, I thought the fresh chickpeas were delicious, not mealy, a beautiful light green, tender and sweet.
I still don’t like the other ones that are tinned!
