Hummus

March 1, 2022

If you have a food processor (or blender) this is both easy to make and usually much less expensive then buying it at a grocery store. Plus, you can add your own flavors/toppings to mix up the experience. Check out our suggestions for this below and we’d love to hear in the comments your favorite additions to a basic hummus recipe.

Serves: 4

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup dried chickpeas* or 1 can chickpeas

3 cloves garlic

1.5 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

Water

2 tbsp tahini

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp Hot sauce or to taste

Pinch salt

If you are using dried beans, cook them*. Once you have cooked the beans, drain and rinse them. Add all the ingredients to a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth.

You can add all sorts of delicious things to this hummus, or keep it plain and top with something yummy. Some examples of things you can add to the hummus or top it with are pine nuts, fresh herbs, roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, harissa, or olives! Serve with bread, crackers, or fresh vegetables or use on a sandwich. Enjoy!

*Cook the chickpeas using an Instant Pot or on the stove. (If you are using canned chickpeas skip to step 2)

In the Instant Pot: Add 3/4 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally.

On the stove: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook chickpeas from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the chickpeas which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size. Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt in the water. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt. For this recipe, also add 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans!

Crispy Chickpeas

July 28, 2020

There are still protests happening all over the country and we are grateful for the years of Black leadership that have gone into the current set of uprisings. We are keenly aware that freedom will not be achieved until All Black Lives Matter and this will not happen because of White folks, but also not without White folks. One way to stand in solidarity and support Black Leadership is to donate to Holistic Resistance’s Grief to Action Camp Fundraiser. If you are confused by why people are protesting, we recommend watching The 13th. It is a great look at some of the underlying structures of racism that have led us to where we are today.

We love making these crispy chickpeas and keeping them on hand to snack on, take to protests, or to sprinkle on salads, or as a garnish on soup. This recipe calls for cooking the chickpeas from dried. It is best to start the chickpeas cooking in advance. You can even cook them the day before you bake them. If you don’t have access to dried beans or would prefer to have quicker crispy chickpeas canned chickpeas can be substituted. If you want a more flavorful experience when using canned beans, double the garlic powder.

Makes: 2 cups

Time: 2.5 hrs with an Instant Pot, more if cooking on stove top half the time if using canned chickpeas

Ingredients

1 1/3 dried chickpeas* (option to replace with 2 cans of chickpeas)

3 T olive oil

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Step 1: Cook the chickpeas using an Instant Pot or on the stove. (If you are using canned chickpeas skip to step 2)

In the Instant Pot: Add 1 1/3 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally.

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse the beans. Put the chickpeas on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the chickpeas with garlic powder and salt and stir to coat evenly. Spread the chickpeas out into a single layer and roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes until they are golden brown and crispy.

Curried Chickpea Salad

June 30, 2020

We’re grieving the loss of summer potlucks, picnics, and days at the beach with friends. Normally we would bring this chickpea salad, a bag of local cherries, and some chips to the river and just relax all day. With COVID, we’ve been traveling less but we still enjoy eating this delicious salad. I like to toast bread, cover it with mayo and then add this salad for a chickpea salad sandwich!

Serves: 4 as side

Time: 20 minutes + chickpea cooking time

Ingredients

3/4 cup halved red grapes

2 cans chickpeas (1 1/3 cup dry*)

for the sauce:

1/2 med onion (1 cup) chopped

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1/4 cup vegan mayo (soy-free option)

1/2 tsp salt

juice of 1/2 lemon (2 tbsp lemon juice)

Slice grapes in half and chop the onion. Saute the onion in oil until it’s starting to be translucent, about 10 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, mash the chickpeas in a medium bowl. When mashing, the texture is important. You are looking to crush the chickpeas into a meaty texture but you do not want to over-mash as you could end up with hummus! Toss the chickpeas with the lemon juice and salt and set aside.

Once the onions are translucent, add the curry powder, stir for an additional minute and then remove from heat. In the pan you cooked the onions in, add the mayo, stirring to combine. Pour sauce into mashed chickpeas and stir to coat. Fold in the grapes and enjoy!

*Cooking Chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas, in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cup of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the beans with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1/8 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook chickpeas from scratch with a little planning. First you will need to soak the chickpeas which can be done one of two ways. 1. you can soak them overnight making sure they have enough water and space to double in size or 2. you can put them in a pot and bring to boil, then turn off the water and let soak for one hour. Again, make sure you have enough water and space that they can double in size.

Once you have soaked your beans, rinse them and then put in a pot with salty water. These will be cooking for about 2 hours so you don’t want as much salt as you would use for pasta, but you do want to add enough that you can taste the salt. The best way to get good at this is to practice. Each time you salt the water, taste it and when the beans are done taste them to see if they are well salted. A well salted bean should taste flavorful but not salty. If it tastes like you are eating salt, you added too much. If the bean lacks flavor then you didn’t have enough salt.

For this recipe, also add 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, and 1/8 tsp cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegration. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!

Bash's Cauli N' Cheese

March 3, 2020

We’re in love with this quick and easy cheesy recipe that our friend Bash taught us to make. It goes great with stir fried vegetables, and can also be delicious as a stand alone dish.

Serves: 4

Time: 30 min

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 med size head of cauliflower, diced

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cups cooked chickpeas* (2 cans)

1/2 to 1 tsp salt, according to taste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups of cashew cheese

green onion, sliced for garnish

Cook onions on medium low heat until they start to brown about 7 min. Add cauliflower and cook for another 10min. Add chickpeas and remaining seasoning, cook until the cauliflower is soft and starting to brown and get crispy (another 20min). Pour cashew sauce over and stir until incorporated and warm. Garnish with green onion and enjoy!

*Cooking chickpeas from dry:

In the Instant Pot:

To cook the chickpeas in an Instant Pot, add 1 1/3 cups of dried chickpeas to the pot. Cover the chickpeas with water (in the small Instant Pot this is about 6 cups of water), season with 2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp turmeric, 2 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp cayenne. Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 35 minutes letting depressurize naturally. Drain and rinse before adding to the dish.

On the stove:

For this recipe, also add 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp cayenne to the chickpeas as they cook. Cook the chickpeas until they are soft but not falling apart (this will take 1.5-2 hours). We recommend checking the beans at about an hour and then every 20 minutes until they are soft but not disintegrating. Make sure your pot has enough water as I have definitely cooked all the water off before and burnt the beans! This may seem like a lot of work, however once you get the hang of it the work is almost all passive and the reward is high: chickpeas cooked from scratch taste much better and are much cheaper!