Hello there lovely people, I hope you’re all really well!

I bet most of you know by now that I use chickpeas in almost everything – from stews to wraps to making hummus and even cookies; chickpeas and definitely a staple in my kitchen!

Canned chickpeas are great, and what I tend to use most often, but every once in a while, when I’m batch cooking on a weekend or when I remember to soak my dried chickpeas (or beans) overnight, I do enjoy cooking my own.

You can simply boil you soaked chickpeas in fresh seasoned water for an hour or so – which will result in perfectly cooked chickpeas you can enjoy with salads, wraps, hummus, or anything else 🙂

Cooking your own chickpeas will result in something more flavorful than the canned variety – even though there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the canned variety either! However, cooking your own gives you the opportunity to impart a lot of flavour during the cooking process. I’ve been experimenting and believe that I have come up with possibly the BEST way to cook your dried chickpeas…

What you’ll need:

2 cups dried chickpeas (which have been soaked in water overnight)

Approx. 2 litres water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions

6 cloves garlic

6 dried bay leaves

Rind from 1 lemon (skin)

1 teaspoon Chilli flakes (optional)

salt and pepper

Add all the above ingredients to a large pot and cook together until chickpeas are fork tender. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

Then, simply remove and discard bay leaves, use a slotted spoon to remove chickpeas and place in a separate container to use in dips, over salads, in wraps or whatever you fancy. The chickpeas absorb a lot of the flavour of the aromatics added to the liquid so you’re left with beautifully seasoned legumes.

DO NOT DISCARD THE BROTH – this is the BEST part.

I love using the remaining chickpea broth as a base for a nice veggie soup or in a veggie risotto – it make a HUGE difference. It’s rich a delicious and keeps in the fridge for well over a week in an air tight container.

I recently used this in a potato leek soup and for a risotto; both turned out super flavorful and delicious – stay tuned for those recipes too 😉

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Until my next post, be well xXx