August 2016

I told you I was going to feature the pressure cooker again soon, didn’t I? The first time cooking dried chickpeas in the pressure cooker was such a success: 8-hours of soaking, about 10 minutes for the pressure cooker to warm up, and 6-7 minutes of steady cooking resulted in perfect beans, whereas regular stovetop simmering would have added more than an hour. Last time, I started with a little more than half bag of dried chickpeas and ended up with cooked beans that were delicious on their own, then added to a salad, and then transformed into hummus. For the rest of the bag, I wanted the chickpeas to be used in a recipe that used some of the broth and incorporated other ingredients I had on hand. It would also be useful if the leftovers of the dish could be easily reheated for lunch, as I hustled around the house while the wee one napped.

A search on The New York Times Cooking website brought up a “Garbanzos and Greens with Chorizo” recipe. I didn’t have chorizo, but I did have an open package of bacon. I didn’t have kale or chard, but in the freezer, I had a bag of collard greens that I had blanched and frozen weeks before (collards are sold in such HUGE bunches, aren’t they?). Since collards and bacon often go together anyway, it was meant to be!

Note: you could omit the bacon to make this vegetarian. Just amp up the smoked paprika (one of my favorite pantry spices).

Chickpeas and Greens with Bacon
Adapted from The New York Times Cooking

For the chickpeas and broth:
About 1/2 bag or 1 Cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
½ small onion, plus 1 clove
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 bay leaf
A generous amount of salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

For the beans and greens:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (about 1 Cup)
Salt and pepper to taste
About 6 ounces bacon, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
3 Tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 bunch of collard greens – or kale, or chard, washed and cut into slices

Soak the chickpeas overnight or all day (I soaked mine about 6 hours.) Drain and put in the pressure cooker. Add the onion half and clove, chopped carrot, bay leaf, and vegetable oil and cover with 6 Cups of water. Reference the directions that come with the pressure cooker to make sure you are using it correctly and safely. I put mine over a high flame until the lid sealed and the pressure regulator began to rock. I them set the timer (for 7 minutes) and lowered the heat so the regulator was rocking steadily but not excessively throughout the cooking time.

In the meantime, chop your other ingredients, and toast and grind your cumin seeds.

When the chickpeas are done (and the pressure has lowered and the lid can be opened), season generously (and I mean generously) with salt.

In a wide, high-sided skillet, heat olive olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and salt and pepper and cook until softened and turning slightly brown. Add the bacon and cook until browned.

When the chickpeas were done, I removed the onion, carrot and bay leaf from the pot and then strained the mixture, saving the broth and separating the chickpeas.

Into the bacon-onion mixture, stir the garlic, smoked paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cumin. Then add the chickpeas and about 1/2 Cup of the chickpea cooking broth.

Turn the heat up until the liquid is at a simmer; add the greens and salt and pepper. If using fresh greens, stir until they wilt. Otherwise, put the lid on the pan and allow to cook for a few minutes.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Then transfer a portion into each individual soup bowl for serving.

Ladle 1 Cup of broth into each bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cumin and pine nuts.

Serve with a toasted baguette slice or two to soak up the broth. Enjoy with a celebratory glass of sparkling wine!

Have you heard of aquafaba, the water waste product of cooking dried beans? You’ll find it as the liquid in your can of chickpeas, or create it when boiling your own dried beans at home.

I was recently introduced to aquafaba and its culinary potential firsthand at the Food Loves Tech conference exhibition in Manhattan. It turns out, aquafaba as an ingredient behaves similarly to eggs or egg whites, making it a big deal among vegan cooks. I tasted Sir Kensington’s delicious vegan mayo made from aquafaba, aka “fabanaise.” They sourced the liquid from a hummus producer that had it in abundance and was otherwise wasting it. These are the types of business partnerships we need more of!

As a side note, things have changed quite a bit around here. The morning after my last post, at 39 weeks plus 4 days, my water broke, and 13 hours later my son came into the world. (And no, I did not end up doing any cooking while I was in labor.)

The story of how I came to be sharing this recipe with you today is that, on what turned out to be my one “vacation” day of maternity leave before the baby, I cooked dried chickpeas. I cooked them in my brand new pressure cooker, so it was an adventure. (The pressure cooker was actually a baby shower gift from my friend @LadyParmalade. Months before, she had been telling me about the pleasures of a pressure cooker, and I jokingly asked if it would be appropriate to register for a kitchen item like that. It was not intended as a hint, but she ran with it!) I’m sure I’ll post more about pressure cooker experiences in the future. In this case, the chickpeas were a huge success, and I saved the liquid because it was actually darn tasty.

Fast forward to days later, after I was home from the hospital with a newborn. I usually don’t like to post back-to-back recipes in a similar genre (dessert), but I was incredibly blessed to have all my main meals provided to or cooked for me for the week and half following the birth. My mother stayed with us and cooked one colorful and nutritious meal after another. She and my dad even insisted on doing all the dishes! It gave me the freedom to use my unexplainable burst of energy one afternoon to bake up a dessert, with my chickpea water.

Chickpea Water (i.e. Vegan) Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from recipe by Sarah De la Cruz on Fried Dandelions

Now, you might think that these brownies are a little “out there” and can’t fulfill a craving for real brownies. I urge you to keep an open mind. The texture emulates some of the fudgiest non-vegan brownies I’ve had, and while you may notice hints of unusual flavors, the dominant taste is rich chocolate. With vanilla ice cream, you can hardly tell a difference!

1/4 Cup coconut oil
Oil (either extra coconut oil or vegetable oil) to grease the pan
3 ounces (about 1/2 Cup) PLUS 4.5 ounces (about 3/4 Cup) chocolate chips– semisweet recommended, but you could also mix in some bittersweet
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup maple syrup
pinch of salt
1/2 C aquafaba (if you cooked your beans at home and the water isn’t especially viscous, cook down the liquid in a saucepan for about 10-15 minutes)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or less if you prefer
2 teaspoons espresso powder
3/4 Cup All-purpose flour

Set your oven to preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and set aside.

Melt 3 ounces of the chocolate chips and 1/4 Cup coconut oil in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat.

Remove from heat and add brown sugar, maple syrup and pinch of salt. Whisk together, and then add aquafaba.

Add vanilla, cinnamon, espresso powder, and flour, and mix well.

Incorporate remaining 4.5 ounces of chocolate chips. Pour batter into the baking pan.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes. Take care not to over-bake; these brownies should be moist.