Cooking with Chicks

Up until about a year ago, I thought chickpeas {garbanzo beans} were just those things I picked out of my salad.  I wasn't really a big fan.
My next door neighbor is from Pakistan, and she introduced me to cooked chickpeas through her amazing dishes...thankfully, I changed my mind. I'll feature her specialty recipe here someday soon. It's flavored differently, but it's just as delicious. 

Why should you consider eating these? Chickpeas are packed with vitamins, minerals and they are an important protein source. If you are thinking about leaning into a vegetarian lifestyle, this will be a staple pantry item for you.

I came home for lunch the other day and realized  I was out of salad stuff, and wasn't in the mood for a shake... So I made a quick and easy lunch of chickpeas.  I know, it doesn't sound very enticing, but I promise the taste is great, and its sweet enough with a heated spice to be a little addictive.  The spice isn't a burning one, more like a warming, flavored one......it's a favorite of mine and worth trying.

5 minutes, 4 ingredients, 3 steps...

Sweet and spicy chic peas

1 can chickpeas {garbanzo beans}

1 chile in adobo {*see note below}

Organic Coconut oil {for quick frying in pan}

Organic Agave syrup

Step 1: Open and rinse chickpeas with water.  Drain.

Step 2: Add small amount of coconut oil {1 Tbs} in small skillet and bring the heat up to a sizzle

Step 3: Put one chile in adobo into pan, and break up a bit. Add chickpeas, and a swirl of agave syrup and stir around to coat the chic peas {sorry, you know I don't really measure!}. Adjust the 'sweet' to your taste, just remember that agave syrup is very sweet and you will need less than you might think. 

When the chickpeas start popping, they are heated through~it usually takes a few minutes. If you over cook them, I've noticed they can taste dry~so cook them quick and at a high temperature.

You will get about 3 portions out of the above ingredients. It's spicy from the chile, so I would be cautious giving this to kids. 

*Chiles in adobo are usually sold in the ethnic food aisle in the grocery store {Mexican section}, around the sliced jalapenos.  They are smoked, roasted jalapenos in adobo sauce, which has a smoky, spicy taste.  There will be a bunch packed into that tiny can.  Please don't do anything crazy, like eat one all by itself...you will choke.  It's spicy.  Using one chile, and breaking it up to flavor this dish is perfect.  I freeze my chilies in a freezer bag with the sauce it's packed in, making it easy to separate them when you need one.  That tiny can will go a long way....

Enjoy, and tell me what you think! Do you have a favorite chickpea recipe? Feel free to share and I'll feature it here :)

Have a great day!

{Jenn}