Recipe: Fresh Chickpea Hummus and Late Spring Vegetable Ragout with Fresh Garbazos

Wow, cool...I've never seen them either, but anyway...

A FRESH TAKE ON GARBANZO BEANS
By: Karola Saekel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Recipes:
FRESH CHICKPEA HUMMUS
LATE SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOUT WITH FRESH GARBANZOS

Whether you call them chickpeas or garbanzos, most of us think of them as those crinkly yellow pea-size dried beans found in health-food store bins, or canned. Actually, the garbanzo doesn't start life as a shriveled, hard, yellow legume, but as a perky little ball, ranging in color from the palest green to a color that resembles the flesh of an avocado. It's cocooned in a papery shell, two or three beans to the pod, and is one of the easiest beans to shell.

Admittedly, you aren't likely to find fresh garbanzos next to the green beans and carrots at your neighborhood chain supermarket, but in the last few years, California-grown chickpeas have started to pop up from roughly early May to September at farmers' markets and in specialty produce stores.

The first ones I bought this season, almost three weeks ago, came from Berkeley Bowl and cost $2.69 a pound. Since the shells are very light, there is very little waste by weight, so while they may be a specialty item, fresh chickpeas are certainly not in the luxury category.

Food historians -- Colin Spencer, James Peterson, et al -- tell us that wild-growing chickpeas have been documented in the Fertile Crescent, cradle of so many of our grains and legumes, as long as 7,000 years ago. They were widely cultivated in the Middle East and by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans in classical times.

Conquering the world

They have since spread to many parts of the world, including Mexico and, most importantly, India, where they are a staple of the diet, albeit mostly in their dried form. According to Spencer, the garbanzo is called Bengal gram and is the chief pulse grown on the subcontinent.

In Indian cuisine, garbanzos, fresh or dried and cooked, are combined with aromatic spices for appetizers or ground into flour for dumplings and fritters.

The Middle East's iconic hummus, which has gained a wide following in the United States in the last couple of decades, is delicious made with fresh chickpeas, which have a trace of sweetness lacking in the canned product. Made from fresh beans, the spread has an enticing green color.

Farm-fresh garbanzos are so tender that they can be added raw to salads for an appealing crunch, says Elisabeth Schwarz, executive chef at the Restaurant at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. The German-born chef is passionately devoted to the fresh and local credo and puts chickpea dishes on her menu this time of year.

Good for you

If she isn't dropping the nutritious green morsels -- lots of beneficial fiber, protein, vitamins and important trace elements -- into salads, Schwarz makes them the star of a vegetable ragout that also features early blue lake beans, spring onions, fennel and true (not shaved-down) baby carrots. It's a combination as bright and lively as a bouquet from a spring garden.

However, her devotion to the chickpea may not be quite as ardent as that of ancient Romans, who actually named some important folks after the humble little bean. Its name in classical Rome? Cicero.

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FRESH CHICKPEA HUMMUS
Using fresh chickpeas adds a delicate hint of sweetness to the spread, which is a vibrant light green. Alert guests that it is not guacamole.

1 pound fresh chickpeas
Juice of 1 medium lemon, preferably Meyer lemon
1/2 to 1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems discarded, coarsely chopped; more whole leaves for optional garnish
1/2 cup well-stirred tahini
2 to 3 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil
Salt, freshly ground white or black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon toasted cumin seeds (optional)

Shell chickpeas; discard skins. Place chickpeas in a steamer and steam, covered, over boiling water 18-20 minutes until tender but not mushy (taste one after 15 minutes of steaming). Remove steamer basket, run cold water over chickpeas to stop cooking; let cool 5 minutes.

Place chickpeas in a blender or processor. Add lemon juice, 1/2 clove of the minced garlic, chopped cilantro, tahini and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Process with on-off bursts until mixture is pureed, adding third spoon of olive oil if needed.

Taste and add more garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper as desired, keeping in mind that garlic flavor will intensify as the spread stands. Add cumin seeds if desired.

Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Re-taste for seasonings before serving; decorate with additional cilantro leaves. Serve with pita triangles or Middle Eastern-style crackers, or add a small amount to the filling of pita sandwiches.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups
PER TABLESPOON: 60 calories, 2 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 3 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

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LATE SPRING VEGETABLE RAGOUT WITH FRESH GARBANZOS
Elisabeth Schwarz serves this at the Restaurant at Wente Vineyards with seasonal meat and poultry dishes.

1 pound fresh garbanzos
1/2 bunch baby carrots, tops removed, peeled
1/2 pound blue lake beans, cleaned and sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 white spring onions, cleaned and sliced
1 bulb fennel, green top removed, thinly sliced
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons butter (optional)

Heat lightly salted water for blanching in a medium-size pot.

Remove the garbanzo beans from their pods. Blanch garbanzos in the lightly simmering water for 5-6 minutes. Drain; set aside to cool.

Blanch the baby carrots until very al dente. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the carrots. Blanch the blue lake beans for 3-4 minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold all vegetables over medium heat. Add the onions, fennel and garlic and gently cook without browning for 2-3 minutes.

Add the garbanzo beans, then carrots and blue lake beans. Moisten vegetables with some of the chicken or vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Finish by adding 1-2 teaspoons of butter (optional). Adjust seasoning if necessary prior to serving.

Serves 4 as a side dish
PER SERVING: 200 calories, 8 g protein, 29 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 47 mg sodium, 9 g fiber.