[senior citizen]

Chickpeas Salad
("Ceci all’Insalata" - "’Nzalata ri Ciciri")

Chickpeas are not just for "hummus"...........
Very easy to prepare: open a can of chickpeas, drain and rinse. Add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and your side dish is ready!

In Sicilian/Italian cooking, chickpeas are used extensively and are liked for their faint nut taste and ease of preparation. (You can also cook dried chickpeas; see note below)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (also called garbanzo beans) ( I use Progresso brand chick peas "ceci")
½ medium size red onion, finely minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of your preferred vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 clove of crushed garlic
Few pinches of red pepper flakes (Optional)

Preparation
In a bowl combine chickpeas and onions, add the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, if you like, add hot red pepper flakes, the garlic and toss well.
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Variations:
By adding hearts of celery, tomatoes, olives, fennel, string beans, beans and any other vegetables in season, you can enhance the taste of this salad.

To transform this dish into a complete meal, add sliced boiled eggs, cold cuts, chunks of soft cheese, or canned tuna fish.

Use what is available in your refrigerator and pantry, and increase the amount of dressing accordingly.
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Because chickpeas grow abundantly in Sicily it was considered staple food for the laborers and the peasants in the countryside.

Because chickpeas are nutritious and fulfilling, they are chosen food for persons with high blood sugar because they metabolize slowly and they are also selected in special diets and to control body weight.

Chickpeas are mostly available dried or canned. The dried chickpeas have to be soaked overnight and cooked between 1 ½ to 2 hours, the canned chickpeas are very convenient and ready to use. Buy a good brand and you will appreciate that they are cooked to perfection while retaining their quality and nutritional value.

[Carla B]

Thanks for the great idea! I've tried making hummus with tahini (very expensive) and decided it wasn't worth the effort vs. buying ready-made. But using the chick peas as a salad sounds worth it.

[Carl in Tampa]

Hummus? Hummus is good, but that hardly scratches the surface of the utility of Chickpeas.

Let me recommend what I consider the finest application of Chickpeas: SPANISH BEAN SOUP.

The Columbia Restaurant, founded in 1905, the most famous Spanish/Cuban cuisine restaurant in Tampa, built much of it's reputation on Spanish Bean Soup. It has shared the recipe on the Internet at Columbia Restaurant - Featured Recipes & Wines


Spanish Bean Soup (Potaje de Garbanzos)

Ingredients

½ pound garbanzo beans (chickpeas), dried
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 ham bone
1 beef bone
¼ pound salt pork, cut in thin strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
½ teaspoon paprika
Pinch of saffron
1 chorizo (Spanish sausage), sliced in thin rounds

Preparation

Wash garbanzos. Soak overnight with 1 tablespoon salt
in enough water to cover beans. Drain the salted water
from the beans. Place beans in 4-quart soup kettle; add
2 quarts of water and the ham and beef bones. Cook for
45 minutes over low heat, skimming foam from the top.
Fry salt pork slowly in a skillet. Add chopped onion and
saute lightly. Add to beans along with potatoes, paprika,
and saffron. Add salt to taste. When potatoes are tender,
remove from heat and add chorizo. Serve hot in deep
soup bowls. Serves 4.

This is the soup that made the Columbia famous for food.
The Columbia’s founder, Casimiro Hernandez Sr., adapted
his version from the heavy, multicourse cocido madrilèno
stew of Spain. His simplified version served elements of
the original feast—meat, potatoes, and garbanzos—in one
bowl.

By the 1920s, newspapers boasted of Tampa’s three
great delights: sunshine, cigars, and soup. For a thicker
soup, stew it longer.

Enjoy!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Hummus? Hummus is good, but that hardly scratches the surface of the utility of Chickpeas.

Let me recommend what I consider the finest application of Chickpeas: SPANISH BEAN SOUP.

The Columbia Restaurant, founded in 1905, the most famous Spanish/Cuban cuisine restaurant in Tampa, built much of it's reputation on Spanish Bean Soup. It has shared the recipe on the Internet at Columbia Restaurant - Featured Recipes & Wines


Spanish Bean Soup (Potaje de Garbanzos)

Ingredients

½ pound garbanzo beans (chickpeas), dried
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 ham bone
1 beef bone
¼ pound salt pork, cut in thin strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
½ teaspoon paprika
Pinch of saffron
1 chorizo (Spanish sausage), sliced in thin rounds

Preparation

Wash garbanzos. Soak overnight with 1 tablespoon salt
in enough water to cover beans. Drain the salted water
from the beans. Place beans in 4-quart soup kettle; add
2 quarts of water and the ham and beef bones. Cook for
45 minutes over low heat, skimming foam from the top.
Fry salt pork slowly in a skillet. Add chopped onion and
saute lightly. Add to beans along with potatoes, paprika,
and saffron. Add salt to taste. When potatoes are tender,
remove from heat and add chorizo. Serve hot in deep
soup bowls. Serves 4.

This is the soup that made the Columbia famous for food.
The Columbia’s founder, Casimiro Hernandez Sr., adapted
his version from the heavy, multicourse cocido madrilèno
stew of Spain. His simplified version served elements of
the original feast—meat, potatoes, and garbanzos—in one
bowl.

By the 1920s, newspapers boasted of Tampa’s three
great delights: sunshine, cigars, and soup. For a thicker
soup, stew it longer.

Enjoy!

Sounds absolutely delicious. Have only enjoyed Cuban food a few times......while in Sarasota Florida.

Likewise, have only tasted authentic Spanish food while entertaining our kids' Spanish Exchange Students from Granada Spain and also the Basque Region (the city escapes me).

This recipe is something I would make at home. Thanks.

[Carl in Tampa]

Oh, I forgot.

WITH the Spanish Bean Soup, serve buttered Cuban Bread.

Cuban bread is sometimes difficult to find in The Villages. I've found it in Publix.

Don't make the mistake of accepting French Bread or Puerto Rican Bread, also sometimes found in Publix.

Later maybe we will talk about a mid-morning snack of dunking buttered Cuban Bread toast strips in Cuban cafe-con-leche coffee. Ummmm.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Oh, I forgot.

WITH the Spanish Bean Soup, serve buttered Cuban Bread.

Cuban bread is sometimes difficult to find in The Villages. I've found it in Publix.

Don't make the mistake of accepting French Bread or Puerto Rican Bread, also sometimes found in Publix.

Later maybe we will talk about a mid-morning snack of dunking buttered Cuban Bread toast strips in Cuban cafe-con-leche coffee. Ummmm.

I still do remember the delicious Cuban bread in that Sarasota restaurant. Everything was very very good. Wish there were more bakeries that made "real artisan type bread", no matter its ethnic origin.