40 Days of Chickpeas

The first time I remember consciously eating a chickpea, I was but a lass, with my family at my father’s Indian colleague’s home for dinner. In fact, it was a night of many firsts for me in digestive respects. It was the first time I can remember eating an ethnically diverse meal, departing from my family’s typical Irish meat-and-potatoes repertoire. It is one of the first meals that I remember distinctly; I can still imagine the bold smells, fiery tastes, and unlikely textures of the food. For these reasons, the chickpea holds a special place in my heart, though I only recently returned to the chickpea as a dietary staple as I became a short-term vegetarian for 40 days of lent.

The kabuli garbanzo bean is an adorable little bean, no bigger than my thumbnail, and no heavier than a paper clip, a close resemblance to what I imagine a little brain would look like. The charming crevices and crannies dug into the surface ensure that, like snowflakes, no garbanzo bean is identical to the next. This is a comforting draw of the chickpea.

Another draw of the garbanzo is its great nutritional content. The chickpea might just be one of the healthiest foods out there. From what I gathered while reading up on the chickpea, it is quite a strong source of, but not limited to, the following: protein, vitamin B, fiber-which lowers cholesterol, magnesium-which is good for the heart, iron, and manganese-an energy producer and antioxidant defender. To top it off, for those who have mental blocks against greens and other healthy stuff, the sweet and grainy taste of the chickpea does not give it away as a healthy food.

In my recent food investigation lifestyle kick, I have come to identify myself as an anti-industrialist foodie. What this means is that I avoid processed foods as much as possible, and do my best to eat natural foods that have been grown and/or raised ethically. In learning of the horrors of the national meat industry, I decided to become a vegetarian for a while, and used Lent as my excuse to do so.

I entered the 40 days of Lent with pure dread and anxiety. How would I survive, let alone enjoy life without chicken, cow, and pig in my diet? If that sounds like an exaggeration, well, it wasn’t. I actually became a vegetarian fearing for my life. Doesn’t most if not all of my nutritional value come from meat?

Well, chickpeas provided the answer to my dilemma. Filling, healthy, protein-packed, easy-going, and unassuming, they would provide the necessary substitute for animals in my diet. The only problem was my self-doubt and tendency to demean myself when it comes to cooking. Basically, I always thought of myself as a lousy cook. Proof: as of last year, I lacked the skill and knowledge necessary to successfully make a hard-boiled egg.

Luckily for me, it is pretty hard to screw up when cooking with chickpeas. They are so amiable a food, one would be hard-pressed to find a flavor that doesn’t go well with chickpea. I even imagine they would be a pleasant surprise as a dessert, dipped in melted chocolate or caramel… perhaps that shall be my next culinary endeavor.

Furthermore, garbanzo beans contain just enough flavor to be the main act in any dish, they are even tasty when eaten casually in the raw. They are nearly impossible to overcook. Margin for error: infinitesimal.

Stay tuned for tales of my excursion with the chickpea.