Wednesday, November 6, 2013
CHICKPEA FLOUR HUMMUS, & RADIATORE WITH SNAP PEAS & HUMMUS PESTO SAUCE
NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED A MILL TO MAKE THESE RECIPES! YOU CAN USE PURCHASED CHICKPEA FLOUR.
Frankly, it sounded yucky to me! But, I looked it up on the Internet and there were quite a few recipes and some good reviews (not all, but I'll get to that later), so I figured it was worth a try. But first I wanted to grind some chickpea flour and see what it was like. I was told in the video that John provides online to use the "coarse" setting, which seems odd at first because you want the flour to be fine. (NOTE: this video was made before he developed the Bean Adapter I have-- he is using a prototype made with a small plastic cup, but the idea and the method is the same.) But, I followed the directions and was rewarded with this lovely powdery-fine flour:
In the recipes for chickpea flour hummus I read online, several bloggers complained about whisking the flour into the hot water-- it got lumpy and hard to stir. It also seemed to take quite a long time to cook- about 15 minutes. Not great for a recipe that is supposed to save time. I had some ideas for remedying both problems, but you'll see what I did in the recipe. Other bloggers seemed to have problems with it being too thick, even solid. I like my hummus very creamy-smooth, NOT thick and pasty, so I knew I'd have to work on that.
And then there was the taste. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew what I wanted. Using my No Oil Hummus recipe (it does contain tahini) as a guide (but not sure of amounts), I achieved what I had in mind in two tries-- not bad! I ended up needing to use a little more tahini, lemon juice and seasonings than in my recipe using whole cooked chickpeas.
I think this stream-lined recipe is excellent (and one I will be repeating often), but you might be asking, "Why use chickpea flour-- why not just use chickpeas, as usual?" I think the concept came from food storage circles-- a way to use dried beans with less cooking time and water, perhaps. And, of course, even if you aren't into emergency preparedness food storage, you might like to save water and energy (the fuel kind, I mean!) But, for the average person, I think it's just another handy option if you want hummus, but you don't have any canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans in the house and you don't have time to cook them, you don't have a pressure cooker, etc.. (And, believe me, no store-bought hummus is as good as homemade!)
Of course, you don't have to grind your own chickpea flour (though a mill is worth saving up for if you use different types of flours and eat lots of whole grains and legumes, and it will save you money in the long run). You can keep a bag of chickpea/garbanzo bean flour (also called besan), double-bagged, in your freezer (to prevent rancidity) for just this sort of recipe.
The second recipe below was a spur-of-the-moment lunch that I made with some of the first batch of Chickpea Flour Hummus I made. I felt like making a quick pasta dish with some snap peas and other vegetables I had around. I was about to make a creamy pasta sauce with some homemade pesto and silken tofu when it occurred to me that the garlicky, lemony creamy pesto sauce I had in mind could be made with some of the smooth and creamy hummus that I had just made with chickpea flour. After all, I had made creamy sauces from cooked beans before, hadn't I? So, that's what I did and it was delicious! In fact, it gave me some ideas for making more sauces with bean flour, so stay tuned.
So, here's my new Hummus recipe..
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S SMOOTH AND CREAMY CHICKPEA FLOUR HUMMUS
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
The seasonings in this recipe are my preference-- you can play around with them to suit your own taste.
2 3/4 cups cold water
3/4 cup chickpea/garbanzo flour (besan), freshly-ground or commercial
NOTE: Store chickpea/garbanzo bean flour (also called besan), double-bagged, in your freezer to keep it fresh.
5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (or bottled organic)
1/4 cup tahini
2-3 large cloves garlic, peeled1 1/2 tsp fine salt
3/4 tsp ground cumin
large pinch cayenne
Possible Garnishes:extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top
paprika or smoked paprika (hot or sweet)
chopped fresh parsley or parsley sprigs
chopped green onions
toasted pine nuts or almonds
grated organic lemon zest
See this post for Hummus flavor variations, using slightly larger amounts than those given
Place the water and chickpea flour into your blender container and blend at medium-high speed until well- blended. Pour into a microwave-proof 2 qt. batter bowl or something similar. Microwave at 100% power for 3 minutes. Using a large whisk, whisk vigorously to make a smooth mixture. Microwave for another 3 minutes at 100% power and repeat whisking. Microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power and whisk again. NOTE: If you don't have a microwave, you will have to cook the blended mixture in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it has thickened, whisking all the time so that it doesn't stick or clump. This may take up to 15 minutes. (Afraid of microwave ovens? Please read this document I have compiled.)
The mixture will foam up while it cooks in the microwave and then "deflate". You can see in the picture below how the mixture rose up the sides and then down again.
Scoop the mixture into a shallow bowl or baking dish. If you aren't in a hurry, place it in the refrigerator until it has cooled and is a rather solid mass. To speed up this process, place your dish in the freezer. This took about 45 minutes cooling time for me. Make sure the mixture is a cool solid mass and not runny and warm.
Now, break up the chickpea flour mixture and place it in a blender or food processor, along with lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin and cayenne. Blend or process until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Place in a bowl and cool down to room temperature before serving, or refrigerate for future use.
IMPORTANT: The mixture will firm up a bit, so, before spreading it in a shallow serving bowl (like a soup plate) for serving, whisk it vigorously to make it creamy again.
Nutrition Facts:
Nutrition (per 1/4 cup serving): 52.8 calories; 45% calories from fat; 2.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 243.8mg sodium; 79.6mg potassium; 5.2g carbohydrates; 1.1g fiber; 0.8g sugar; 4.1g net carbs; 2.2g protein; 1.1 points.
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And here's that pasta recipe featuring the Hummus Pesto Sauce...
BRYANNA'S SUPER-QUICK RADIATORE WITH SNAP PEAS, SPINACH, GRAPE TOMATO AND CREAMY HUMMUS PESTO SAUCE
Serves 5
The lemony flavor of the hummus added an extra accent to the simple garlicky pesto sauce.
3/4 lb (12 oz.) dry radiatore pasta (or you could use penne, gemelli, fusilli, etc., instead)
8 oz. snap peas, cut into about 3/4-inch pieces (I used kitchen scissors for this)
4 oz. frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed and fluffed
about 12 grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups hummus
1 cup of the hot pasta cooking water
1/4 cup pesto (use homemade or commercial vegan pesto)
Serve with:
freshly-ground black pepper
vegan parmesan, soy based, nut based or homemade
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for about 9 minutes, then add the peas and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes. Drain in a colander placed in a large bowl to catch the cooking water, which you should save. Return the drained pasta and peas to the cooking pot, add the spinach and tomatoes, toss together and cover.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients. It should not be too thick. Pour the sauce into the pot with the pasta and vegetables, toss well and serve immediately.
| Nutrition Facts |
| Nutrition (per serving): 361.1 calories; 11% calories from fat; 4.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 388.1mg sodium; 502.5mg potassium; 64.3g carbohydrates; 5.5g fiber; 3.0g sugar; 58.8g net carbs; 14.8g protein; 6.8 points. |
Enjoy!
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2 comments:
Thank you so much for these lovely recipes. I had no idea I was supposed to store my flour in my freezer. Hahahah! It's almost empty since I became a vegan.
I used to make split pea soup and white bean soup from milled beans, never thought about hummus. Today I took out my fat free vegan cookbook and made Old Fashioned Vegetable Stew and served with multigrain toasted with garlic butter. I date when I cook things, that one was made several times in 2005. I liked putting the soup into a cleaned out pumpkin and baking it that year. .
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