Basic Chickpea

Chickpeas are incredibly versatile. This is a very simple recipe to cook chickpeas. Once cooked, you can marinate them, roast them, add them to soups or salads, combine them with rice to create a complete protein or puree them to make hummus.
Legumes are an important part of a balanced diet. They appear to be the best bang for your buck, if you want to live longer. They offer the longest life expectancy gain. In addition, they offer vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and antioxidants. They can assist in regulating blood pressure, lowering LDL and feed the healthy bacteria in our gut. They are also inexpensive. It's a no-brainer. We can all benefit from legumes. This is a simple recipe, that once prepared can be used in a myriad of ways.
Soaking the chickpeas the night before will drastically reduce the cooking time and make the chickpeas easier to digest, resulting in less gas and bloating.
With more frequent consumption of legumes, your body will acclimate and you will experience little to no gas or bloating when you eat them. The same is true for cruciferous vegetables.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup dry chickpeas
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Begin by sorting and rinsing chickpeas.
  • Place washed chickpeas in a large ceramic or glass bowl . The chickpeas will swell to almost 3x their size, so be sure to allow sufficient space. Cover the peas with plenty of water. The water should rise about two inches over the top of the peas. Add baking soda. Cover with a dishtowel and allow the peas to soak overnight.
  • The next morning, drain chickpeas into a colander. Rinse with water.
  • Place chickpeas and fresh water in a pot. Water should rise at least one inch above the chickpeas. Bring the chickpeas and water to a full boil.
    Watch the pot closely for the first few minutes. Chickpeas will foam and the first foam can spill over the pot and make a big mess, so you'll want to be semi-attentive initially. As foam forms, use a spoon to scrape the foam off the sides of the pot. Discard the foam and scrape down the sides again if needed.
    Lower the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes depending on how soft you like your chickpeas.
    I cook chickpeas for about 30 minutes when I will marinate or roast them. I cook them longer if I am planning to make hummus or add them to soup.
    Check the peas after 30 minutes. I like the chickpeas to have a little bite to them, so try them and decide what texture you like best. Stop cooking when they reached your preferred texture.

Notes

One cup of uncooked chickpeas will render approximately two and a half cups of cooked chickpeas.
 
Keyword chickpeas, garbanzo, legumes, beans