Chickpeas
Chickpeas are about the earlyest mankind cultivated food. They maybe appeared 7500 years ago in Mésopotamia.
High in proteins, chickpeas are a good way to avoid eating too much soy products in vegan diet.
Chickpeas may be used in different ways: as a flour, blendered, fried, boiled.
Recipes
Farinata
Farinata is an Italian chickpeas pie.
You will need:
- 90 cl of water
- 300 g chickpeas flour
- one glass of olive oil
- a bit of salt
- a bit of black pepper
Mix water and chickpea flour in a bowl until you get a homogeneous mixture. Cover the bowl with a lid and let stand 4-5 hours at room temperature (stirr occasionally). It is likely that a thin layer of foam is formed on the surface of the mixture. Remove it with a slotted spoon. Add salt and ½ cup of oil, pour the remaining oil in a baking pan untill it is completely covers the bottom. Preheat oven to 220 °C. Pour the batter of chickpea flour in the baking dish and bake half an hour, until the surface is golden. At this point, turn off the oven and turn on the grill, so that the surface becomes slightly crispy. Once cooking is complete, remove the farinata, add salt and pepper, cut into squares and serve it still warm, with a side of vegetables.
Calentica
Calentica is a traditional dish from Algeria.
You will need:
- 250 g chickpea flour
- 1 l of water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- salt and pepper
Mix water and chickpea flour, let stand overnight. The next day, add the olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix again. Grease a baking dish and pour the dough to a thickness of 2cm. Bake at 300 °C for 1/2 hour in a preheated oven. The Calentica can be served warm with harissa.