By Russ Mills, via Ffffound

We had this for dinner last night with a big dollop of smashed pumpkin. Simple, delicious, wholesome goodness.

It was rhe first time I have ever prepared legumes from dried, instead of using canned ones. They taste much cleanerfresherbetter, which makes sense when you think about it. Also, it is so much cheaper to buy them dried. Like, ridiculously cheaper. I just finished doin’ the math:

The 1kg bag of dried chickpeas we scored cost $4.99. That’s around about six cups. One cup of dried chickpeas is equal to two cups cooked: it works out that you get the the equivalent of eight cans of chickpeas for a fiver. Daaaaamn. The cheapest canned versions around here are about $2.50 each. The dry equivalent works out at $0.63 per can. Less than a third of the price. Even buying organic dried chickpeas, which cost $9.90 per kilo,  the dry equivalent works out at $1.24 per can, half the price of a regular non-organic canned version.

I tend to cook with legumes often, and I had always used canned ones, thinking that it must be so much hassle cooking your own, but turns out that it’s not – it just takes a little time. If you are willing to remove a tiny bit of the convenience-factor, you’ll get something that tastes much better and costs sweet fuck all by comparison. 😀

 

Tahini-Tomato Chickpea Casserole

 

What you need:

1 cup dried chickpeas (or 1 x 400g can, drained and rinsed)
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2/3 cup rice
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1 small brown onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tablespoons tahini mixed well with 2 tbsp water
a couple of sprigs fresh basil, chopped finely
a couple of sprigs fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
sea salt & fresh black pepper to taste

What to do:

Skip the following soaking/simmering steps if you are using canned chickpeas – they’re already good to go 🙂

Place dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight (at least 8 hours). Rinse.

Add chickpeas and two cups of water to a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about an hour. Taste test to see if they need a little longer. When done, drain ’em good.

Transfer chickpeas to a small bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat. Add garlic and do the same again. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh black pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Cook rice your preferred way. Drain and set aside.

Add chickpeas, rice, tomatoes, onion, paprika, tamari, lemon juice, tahini mix, sea salt and herbs to a large bowl and mix well. Spoon the mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish.

Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes, and sit for 5 before serving.

Serves 2-3.