Chickpea anxietyOn Monday evening, I entered the most chaotic grocery store in Manhattan armed with something I rarely, if ever, go shopping with: a list. I needed garlic, red onion, scallions, limes, chiles. But something happens once I leave the produce department for the canned goods aisle: I experience what I can describe only as chickpea amnesia. Wait, do I have chickpeas at home? I closed my eyes and envisioned my pantry. There are cans on that shelf, for sure. The labels on them, though, came through blurry, a mirage of indiscernible beans. So I did what I do practically every time I grocery shop, and I grabbed a single can of chickpeas, just in case. One can won’t be too heavy in my tote, and what’s $1.39 among friends (or shopper and megacorp)? When I got home, I had to laugh. I had chickpeas, all right. Cans upon cans of them. “I do the exact same thing, and, weirdly, only with chickpeas!” exclaimed my colleague Becky Hughes, the mind behind our chickpea-topped vegan Caesar recipe. She calls it chickpea anxiety, always picking up a single insurance can. Its affordability — and the fact that a substantial weeknight meal can come from just one can — is justification enough. It’s time to tap into those reserves, starting with Sheela Prakash’s simple roasted chickpeas or Ali Slagle’s skillet brown-butter chickpeas for garnishing salads throughout the week. Either uses up two cans. So too will Rick Martinez’s vegan roasted broccoli and chickpeas with mole verde (above), vibrant with spinach and cilantro, tangy with tomatillos and spiced up with poblanos. “We licked our bowls clean,” wrote Andrea, a reader, beneath the recipe. As you should — you’re in the comfort of your home! Roasted Broccoli and Chickpeas With Mole VerdeTwo cans of chickpeas also transform into a comforting, pantry-friendly, one-pot wonder with Zainab Shah’s recipe for chana masala. Using both fresh Thai green chiles and dried Kashmiri chile powder imparts the simmered beans with layers of heat. When that chickpea anxiety turns out to be warranted, you can still accomplish a lot with that single insurance can. Surround one can of chickpeas with the fresh produce you remembered to put on your list using Lidey Heuck’s recipe for taverna salad, a Greek salad and fattoush hybrid. Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe for fried cheese and chickpeas in spicy tomato gravy calls for just one can as well, and it will use up another pantry staple: a 28-ounce can of diced, puréed or crushed tomatoes. It’s an amenable recipe, especially if you went to the store without a list. Use any cheese with a high melting point: halloumi or paneer is a strong contender, but even queso blanco or queso de freir will work if that’s what you have.
Roasted Chickpeas
Taverna Salad
Fried Cheese and Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato GravyOne More Thing!Here’s something especially topical: My colleague Krysten Chambrot recently spoke to four budgeting experts in search of tips for stretching your dollars at the grocery store. No. 2 on the list? Eat less meat.
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