By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(420)
- Notes
- Read community notes
You smash half the chickpeas in this recipe to make a spread, sort of a warm rustic hummus enhanced with garlic cumin and hot pepper, along with a liberal drizzle of olive oil. You can use either freshly cooked dried beans or canned chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), though freshly cooked is always preferable. Tuck some into a pita for a vegetarian sandwich or serve as a dip to eat with bread and olives; a dollop of minty yogurt and a drizzle of tahini sauce make nice additions.
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Ingredients
Yield:About 3½ cups chickpea spread
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, diced
- Salt and pepper
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- ½teaspoon coarsely ground toasted cumin
- ½teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1cup finely diced celery
- 4cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cooked or canned
- 2tablespoons lemon juice
- 4hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered (optional)
- Minted yogurt (optional), see notes
- Tahini sauce (optional), see notes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook gently until softened, about 10 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high. Add garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes and celery. Stir to combine let sizzle without browning for 1 minute.
Step
2
Add chickpeas and let them heat through. With a potato masher or wooden spoon, crush about half the beans. Stir well, taste and adjust seasoning. Add ½ cup water (or bean cooking liquid if you have it) and let mixture simmer briskly for a minute or two. Stir in lemon juice and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Serve warm in pita or as a dip or side dish. Garnish with quartered eggs, accompanied by minted yogurt and tahini sauce, if desired.
- To make minted yogurt, stir 2 tablespoons chopped mint and 1 minced garlic clove into a cup of thick yogurt. Season with salt and pepper.
- To make tahini sauce, mix ¼ cup Middle Eastern sesame paste with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons olive oil.
Ratings
5
out of 5
420
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Cooking Notes
Figaro
Spice it up: add cayenne &/or Harissa; more lemon juice, omit celery or serve celery sticks with final product; don't cook garlic, use garlic press; add tahini paste directly to final mixture. If adding cumin &/or coriander, toast seeds & grind before adding. Add some olive oil to yogurt mixture.
Make this more like a warm hummus & above all, keep tasting & adding ingredients until you like the flavor. Serve with your own toasted pita chips, if you like.
Judy
I think it has plenty of flavor if served as pictured: sliced avocado and the mint yogurt really compliment the dish. Thanks for a great go to recipe!
Harriet123
The ingredients are bland. I'd add a bit of chili, flakes, sriracha, etc.
lkp
Chickpea mixture alone needs added zest, but as a base for pita sandwiches it's good. Doubled the amount of cumin; no celery so used yellow bell pepper; preserved lemon instead of juice. Served with lettuce, tomato, spicy olive mix and spicy pickled vegetables (both sliced), and hard-boiled eggs, so diners could make their own creations. Will make the yogurt mint sauce to serve with leftovers.
I don't think this would work well as a dip unless the chickpeas are pureed as with hummus.
Karen
¾ teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground
Ziza3000
I always add more cumin than is called for in any recipe. Really kicks it up. Maybe a dash more salt, and more garlic or garlic powder too?
Anne H
I made this as written and served it on pita with cucumber and yogurt salad. Fantastic! (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/health/nutrition/26recipehealth.html)
Sara Brookhyser
These would be fab with the Ottolenghi recipes for turkey zucchini meatballs and yogurt dipping sauce with ground sumac berries. Yumm.
Lisa I
This was delicious! I didn't have pita or tahini. But I had sourdough bread so we sliced that in thick slabs and toasted it. We poured this over the warm toasted bread for a chickpea "bruschetta". And it really worked well. I was a little "generous" with the garlic and the heat but that worked out nicely. A perfect dish to warm up!
Annie
Made as-is, only upped the cumin in the chickpea mix and I thought it was delish. Would list the minted yogurt and the tahini sauce as a MUST though, really upped the flavor profile.
Kittiya
Very excellent! I followed instructions except a few items I didn't have on hand. I subbed white vinegar for lemon, cargo rice for pita bread, and omitted the celery. I also misread the instructions for the tahini sauce and added a teaspoon of water. The consistency changed from the oil based tahini sauce with the addition of water but it tasted as good (I say this since I tasted the sauce before adding the water.) We paired this with a leafy salad. Very satisfying meal.
Andrea
I doubled the cumin, (and I didn't have any celery), but otherwise cooked as it is written - it was great! Very flavorful. Ate it in a pita with a hard-boiled egg and avocado, for a satisfying lunch.
courtney
After reading others' comments, I zhuzhed up the chickpeas with extra cumin, and some roasted garlic, pomegranate syrup, and sumac. Served with a quick pickled beet, the hardboiled eggs, and olives, it was a quick, easy, tasty dinner.
Carol
I made this as stated, it was fab. I did cut the hot spice in half, and we thought it was spicy enough. Definitely on our menu.
Meg
As per usual, I doubled the red pepper flakes and halved the olive oil. This was easy to prep and came together quickly. I ate the leftovers a few days later, and I think the chickpea mash was even more flavorful than when fresh. PS - Make the minted yogurt!
InkieD
This is a deconstructed falafel sandwich but healthier. Made as specified & topped with the garlic/mint yogurt sauce and pitted kalamata olives. Tasty. Will become a regular part of my repertoire.
Sara Brookhyser
These would be fab with the Ottolenghi recipes for turkey zucchini meatballs and yogurt dipping sauce with ground sumac berries. Yumm.
Lisa Zimmerman
The combination of the sauces with the chickpeas is superb. I especially like the mint yogurt sauce (I used non-fat Greek yogurt). Instead of stuffing pitas, I made zucchini boats and drizzled the sauces after baking. YUM!
Mel
Really delicious recipe. I served this with hummus instead of the tahini sauce or yogurt. Omitted the celery and used paprika and cayenne. Added sumac at the end to help round off the flavours.
Anne H
I made this as written and served it on pita with cucumber and yogurt salad. Fantastic! (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/health/nutrition/26recipehealth.html)
PatC
Here’s an outrageous suggestion—add a few tater tots. Along with generally spicing it up as others have suggested—Harrisa is especially good as well as Sriracha—the original version.
DC
I thought this recipe was terrific as written - I added avocado and hard boiled egg to the pita sandwich. I can see where you want to spice it up to make it your own taste profile, but it was a great vegetarian sandwich that I will make again and again.
Carrie
Just as it is, on a whole grain English muffin. Incredible!Picking up some Greek yogurt, though. Sure avocado slices would do as well.Perfect, easy breakfast/lunch during work week! I’m hooked.
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