This battered chickpea recipe happened completely by accident.
Accidents don’t usually happen in my kitchen, unless we’re talking about the bad kind. Like when my processor exploded while making this pesto…
Or when the blender decided to erupt, exploding Green Monster lava all over the kitchen. Or those (many) times when I plugged in the electric mixer to discover it’s already turned on, shooting batter all over the place, as I scream for help.
This processor is the second Kitchenaid 14-cup processor that I’ve murdered, slowly and painfully over time. Actually, I broke the first one trying to process dates on the first try. It takes a real skill to break a processor on the first go around!
I’ve become so accustomed to this wonky processor, I don’t even bat an eyelash when it does weird things like ooze liquids. Eric walked into the kitchen the other day, looking with horror at the processor explosion. I tried to explain to him that this was “normal” and now he thinks I’m the crazy one.
Why do I get the feeling that I’m getting a food processor for Valentine’s Day?
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Chickpea Basil Pesto
Yield
3/4 cup
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
If your food processor isn’t broken, it’s all downhill from here. Use this flavourful, lightened-up pesto on sandwiches, fried chickpeas, wraps, tofu, crackers, and more
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup packed fresh basil, stems removed (30 grams)
- 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
Directions
- With the food processor running, drop in the peeled garlic cloves through the top opening until minced.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add in the oil, lemon juice, and basil. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add in the chickpeas and optional nutritional yeast. Process again until smooth. Add salt to taste and process. You can add a bit more oil or water to achieve your desired consistency. Scoop into a jar or air-tight container. Will keep in the fridge for 1 week or so.
After making the pesto, I had some leftover chickpeas to use up, so I decided to lightly fry them in the skillet, adding seasonings as I went.
This was my first time making fried chickpeas…and oh my lanta they are good!!
I never thought I’d see the day when Eric would pound back chickpeas. It was funny at first until he ate all of them on me…
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
"Battered" Fried Chickpeas
Yield
1.5 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Bored of plain chickpeas? The nutritional yeast and seasonings give the chickpeas a thin coating and a ton of flavour, perfect for popping into your mouth. Keep in mind that the chickpeas don’t get crispy, but they do firm up a bit. I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic in this recipe because the powder gives it more of a coating, like flour would. Add them to a salad, mix them up with chickpea pesto in a wrap, or just eat them plain. Note: You can also scale down the recipe depending on how many chickpeas you have to use up.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2-2.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp Herbamare (or use kosher salt)
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
Directions
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chickpeas. When the skillet has pre-heated (chickpeas should sizzle on it), carefully add the drained chickpeas to the skillet. Be very careful as they will sizzle and crackle in the oil and it may splash you.
- Fry the chickpeas, stirring every 20 seconds or so, over medium heat. After a few minutes, stir in the rest of the ingredients to taste. The chickpeas will have a thin coating on them. Fry for about 5-6 more minutes, stirring frequently and making sure they don’t burn. If they are starting to burn, reduce heat. They should be golden and lightly charred in some parts.
Tip:
Enjoyed with the chickpea basil pesto, they did not last long!
Tuesday’s Post
Thank you for your kind words about the news (and patience for the blog crashing most of Tuesday morning). We now have over 3,000 of you signed up for the newsletter! I’ve started working on the first questionnaire and hope to have the first newsletter out in the next couple weeks. I just need to figure out how this beast works…
Bloggie Awards
The 2012 Bloggies are going down right now until Feb 19th, with bloggers nominated in all kinds of categories. Oh She Glows is nominated in the “Health or Wellness” blog category (along with many of my fav bloggers, like Caitlin and Leo). If you’d like to check out the nominees and vote for your favs in each category, click here. There are a ton of fun categories (and blogs) to check out.
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Today, I’d love to make myself feel better by reading about your kitchen appliance disasters. Tell me all about it…I know I’m not alone!
Also, do you have a food processor that you’re in love with? I’d love to hear about the brand/model you recommend (I get asked this a lot too, so I know many readers would love to read your input.)
This looks so good–I think I’ll be trying it tonight! I do have a question though. I noticed that you used canned chickpeas, and I was wondering if you have preferences with beans–dried or canned, and why? I go back and forth with this–convenience vs cooking process, and I’d love to here your thoughts :)
Hey Keri, I go back and forth with both methods too, depending on how much time I have available. If I have the time and plan ahead I make them from dried beans because it is much cheaper and probably healthier. I also buy BPA-free cans when I do buy them pre-cooked.
I JUST soaked some chickpeas last night and I think I might start going between the 2 just like you said, depending on how time is. I recently started buying more dried beans, just to try and ‘make’ my own as a way to save a bit of money!
Such a good idea…I need to start making beans in advance and freezing them like I was for a while! It’s easy to get out of the habit.
I buy dried and can my own. It sounds like a lot, but it’s SUPER easy. All you need are some jars and a pressure canner. I take half a day every couple of months and can up a bunch of black beans, chickpeas and kidney beans and I have the best of both worlds. The convenience of canned with the cost and benefits of dried.
I had never thought of freezing beans after cooking them. I take it you can do this? What a great idea!
I’m sorry to hear about your food processor, Angela. Food processors and blenders are always the worst because it means you not only lose your wonderful creation, but that creation ends up on ever surface within five feet of the disaster.
Congratulations on your nomination!
~Emily~
Thanks twice. Once for your thoughts on beans, and once for excusing my glaring spelling error. Here, hear. Ugh!
Do you own a pressure cooker? I only buy eden organic dried beans now and cook them in minutes in a pressure cooker! Saves a ton of time and money. Also pressure cooked chickpeas taste so much better than canned.
how many cups of beans can you cook at a time? I just bought a pressure cooker but have not used it yet.
I have a 6 quart presto stainless steel pressure cooker. I have cooked up to 3 cups of dried beans and I am sure you could do more. I also cook lentil soup in 5 minutes! It is so fast you could make black beans, garbanzo and lentils in an hour! (all in separate batches).
I would love to get a pressure cooker, at some point. My dad swears by one.
It seriously never leaves the dry rack because I use almost every single day! The soups that it makes are soooo flavorful and so quick! Mine is a presto 6 quart stainless steel that I ordered from amazon for $40. I use it more than my food processor and vita mix! There is a great video on you tube that shows you how to use one.
It you have a crock pot just cook the beans overnight on low, you don’t even have to soak them. You may have to play around with the time/setting but that is what I do and it saves so much time
Looks like I’ve got lunch! Thanks, Angela :) .
Can’t say I’ve ever had an appliance explode but I do short out the kitchen circuits all the time and think my gadgets are broken so then I run around plugging them in the hallway :) I need a high quality food processor as well. I was thinking the Ninja brand? I’ll have to check back in the comments as well.
that used to happen to me in this house I stayed in while in school. We could never vacuum while cooking! Not that we did much of either…
Oh my gosh, this looks AMAZING! I’ve just been thinking of what I want to do with a bag of dried chickpeas that a friend gave me and now I know: chickpea burgers and that delicious looking chickpea basil pesto to top them off with! Thanks.
I’ve burned out a pair of beaters before. Before I got my KitchenAid stand mixer (which happened as a result of the mixers situation :D). I knew they were on their last leg because whenever I’d use them, there was definitely something loose inside, shaking around…Until one day they started steaming. I was more upset about the fact that I couldn’t finish making my recipe, which was of course, your chocolate chip cookies! haha But, now that I have the standmixer, cookies for everyone, every week!
who knew appliances could be so dangerous, right? Glad you got your stand mixer!
LOL I’ve totally had the green monster lava erupt in my kitchen too! I’ve got a Cuisinart food processor/blender combo and although I can’t remember the model right now, I can definitely get it to you soon! It’s great and I’ve had absolutely no problems (knock on wood!) Another kitchen disaster was the time I singed all the hairs on my arm off when I lived in Bahrain. The flame on our gas stove had gone out, and my mum told me to just “carefully reach in and relight it”. I figured I’d be fine because after all, it was my mum telling me to do this. A few seconds later, BOOM! Hairs were gone, eyebrow was gone, and my mum felt terrible!!
That would be traumatizing. Glad u are ok Ange!
I think we might have the same Cuisinart Processor/Blender! I don’t use the blender portion at all. Have my Blendtec Blender for that (which by the way is the best blender ever!). No issues with the food processor except that it is tiny….4 Cups I believe. Looking to move up, but when I look at the 14 cup Kitchen Aid (like what you have Angela) I see reviews on how the food gets in places..and you can’t clean it out… that would bother me! haha
I can’t wait to make that pesto!
Oh man, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head with a specific appliance. I don’t know if this counts or not but we had these old fondue pots (the kind that used sterno) and we were so excited to do a fondue night with our friends. It took 4 HOURS because the sterno kept going out and I felt like a dork. We immediately got electric ones. It might not be as fun but the next time it took 2 hours from start to finish (3 courses) like it was supposed to! :-)
I got my first food processor this year after being a vegetarian for 15 years. It is a cuisinart and I cannot believe I used to live without one!! Love your blog!
Totally gonna make that pesto. YUM! This wasn’t an appliance disaster, but it was a major kitchen disaster: years ago, I had unscrewed the cap of my soy milk and lightly placed it back on the nozzle while I went to do something else. I forgot that I hadn’t screwed it back on, and proceeded to shake the carton of soy milk, flinging the stuff on every surface of the kitchen. Yay, morning celebration!
I just got a 14 cup Cuisinart Elite Food Processor and I’m seriously in love. Having only had a mini/blender combo one before this thing is life changing. No accidents/explosions/or breaking yet!
Thanks Gina, I’ve heard great things about Cuisinart processors!
I made the mistake of buying the 7 cup version as I live alone trust me it is not big enough at times but it works great. Check out Caynes appliances, I did a lot of price checking and they often have the best deals.
http://www.cayneshousewares.com/
I love Caynes, thanks for reminding me! I haven’t been in ages.
I only recently started making green smoothies and other beverages in my blender that I got for my wedding (7 years ago) – so it hadn’t gotten much use up until a few months ago. After about a month of smoothie making it started to smell a little like melting plastic. I ignored it because it was still making my smoothies. Then one fateful morning I started blending and it caught on fire. It was a spectacular mess – I couldn’t help but laugh, but only because I didn’t burn my house down :) Needless to say I had to go blender shopping that night!
scary stuff!!
One time my food processor exploded as I was blending a super hot batch of broccoli-daiy soup. I had red hands for a few days, but for months afterwards I would find tiny specks of broccoli in the oddest places.
I accidentally sacrificed a wooden spoon to my stand mixer :( Oopsies Thanks for all the different chick pea recipes! I keep buying more and more cans because of you ;-) Too many recipes, so few days!
Yikes– no good with the food processor!! But the chickpeas look absolutely delicious!
Have you tried roasting the chickpeas? You can get them really crunchy in the oven!
I was also wondering if you can mention when the first newsletter goes out on the blog, I signed up but I’m not sure it went through.
My biggest disaster is not exactly appliance related… I made a big batch of delicious herb dressing in my bullet and some how I managed to knock the container over. The bright green dressing got all over the counter, cupboards, floor and even managed to get on the ceiling! I was also drenched in green and I didn’t really know what to do with myself so I called for help.
I also love roasting chickpeas, but I loved how quick and tasty they turned out in the skillet. It’s a good option for a “must have it now” snack.
Yup I will try to mention on the blog when the newsletter goes out! If you don’t get it, I can manually add you into the system. :)
Love the look of those chickpeas!
My worst kitchen disaster was opening a can of vegi broth to make a soup. The electric can opener didn’t turn off after the lid came off and the entire can of broth went allllll over the kitchen; in between cabinets, under the fridge, in drawers. NOT FUN!
Just today I was making some croutons with leftover day old bread. I proceeded to get completely caught up in work on the computer and forgot about the croutons entirely until I smelled that burnt toast smell and remembered I had put them in the oven. They were burnt to a black crisp. So you’re not the only one with kitchen disasters. I manage to ruin something as simple as toasting bread in the oven, ha :)
oh man that happens to me so much! I always put the microwave timer on instead of the oven timer (because it’s annoying to use) and then I leave the room, only to no hear when the timer goes off. A couple of times it was a good hour before I realized I was cooking something!
I love roasting chickpeas and turning them into little crunchy balls of flavor! Love the marinade you chose…working with nutritional yeast is always a cheezy treat :)
This looks delicious! The shot of the food processor has me a little scared, though. :D I don’t want a big pesto explosion!
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FP-14DC-Collection-14-Cup-Processor/dp/B002I5DMU0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1TSTSLMJAKHQ&colid=2Z9H0FIADJD20
That is a link to A Cuisinart 14 Cup food processor – I have had one for 6 years now and just love it. Cannot wait for you cookbook.
Thanks William, I’ll check it out :)
I just realized they have it in HOT PINK!