I have about a dozen cans of them around the house right now. We stocked up on the beans in anticipation of Irene. I’d like to use up a few cans. Chick peas are a perennial favorite in my household. They’re cheap and my vegetarian daughter loves them. We usually eat chick peas in a bean salad with feta or rinsed right out of the can. I’m certainly open to other options.
Thank you.
Throw the contents of the 15 oz. can in the blender with 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil, the juice of a lemon, and 4 crushed cloves garlic. Blend. You’ll probably need a spatula at times.
Parsley and/or toasted sesame oil are nice additions.
Belay that suggestion, unless you want to explain to your spouse why the blender’s motor is burnt out. Or if you have a better blender.
Ever notice how much a burnt-out AC motor smells like olive oil and garlic, even if it was never used to blend olive oil and garlic?
I always post this recipe in chick pea or tuna threads, and a lot of posters have told me that they love it.
2 cans of chickpeas, drained
2 cans of tuna, drained
1/2 bunch of green onions or 1/2 c red onion, chopped
salt, pepper
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar (can also use regular vinegar or lemon juice) i
Chopped parsley if desired
Mix, chill, eat.
Also, you can coat them with some olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder, and whatever, and roast them at 425 F and they get nice and crunchy.
I put in about a quarter teaspoon of chicken Better than Bullion to half a can (with liquid) and nuke it. And then stir. And then eat. Sometimes I dice up a slice of ham lunch meat in this, usually not. It makes a pretty good lunch if I need to eat something but I’m not very hungry.
Trinidadian chana curry. Easy and very, very yum (if you like curry).
Channa (curried chickpeas)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbs ginger-garlic purée
1 tbs curry powder
1 heaping teaspoon amchar powder (available in West Indian markets, such as Kalpana Indian and International Groceries at 2528 Broadway in Manhattan)
1 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
½ Scotch bonnet pepper
Salt to taste.
Heat the oil or ghee in a skillet and sauté the onions over medium high heat, stirring constantly, for about 6 minutes, or until they are golden brown. When the onions are almost done, add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Add the curry and amchar powders and stir for 1 minute.
Transfer the onion mixture to a cast iron or other heavy pot and add the chickpeas. Stir over medium heat until chickpeas are coated with the spices and onions. Add 1 cup of water, the Scotch bonnet pepper and salt to taste; stir. Bring to a simmer, cover and let simmer over low heat for ½ hour. (If the mixture dries out, add a little more water; the finished channa should be slightly thicker than a thick bean soup.) Let cool for a few minutes.
After Daisann McLane, “Trinidad on the Hudson” New York Times Magazine 1/6/1991
I make couscous (actually 50/50 couscous and bulgar wheat), add a vege stock cube, garlic paste and curry powder (heavy on the turmeric) and throw in a tin of chickpeas and a handful of raisins/chopped dates.
Yum
Si
Simple chick pea salad, make up your own ratio:
Chick peas
Chopped firm ripe tomatoes
Chopped or sliced cucumber (the little “seedless” ones are best but any will do.
Toss with dressing of choice. Cardini lime-dill dressing is great with this but I haven’t seen it in the store in quite a while.
I was going to suggest a recipe similar to the one Johanna posted too. There are lots of variants of vegetable/chick pea curries. I just made this one last week - easy, inexpensive, nutritious.
It certainly works in a food processor. Though I’d add a couple tablespoons or more of tahini (ground sesame seeds), and 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce (seriously). Maybe more lemon or olive oil to taste. Now you don’t have to buy hummus from the store.
cook with tripe and chorizo de bilbao (callos.)
I am very fond of this recipe for Spicy Chickpea Patties with Cilantro, Lime, and Chilies. I’ve never had the actual recipe at Whole Foods, so I can’t compare. Also, I tend to make my patties smaller and serve them with raita, pitas, lettuce and anything else you like to stuff in a pita.
Tahini is too expensive for me; I use sesame oil.
Soy sauce? I’ll use Silver Swan next time. 
I add them to pasta + vegetable-based sauces, most commonly one made from cauliflower. Heck, I add them to most dinners that don’t have another source of protein. We eat a lot of chickpeas.
Dry them off as much as possible, toss with a little olive oil, salt, and the spice(s) of your choice, and broil in a single layer on a baking sheet until they get crispy, shaking every couple of minutes so that they’re semi-evenly browned. Eat as snack, or use in salads.
Other uses of chickpeas from the last month or so:
Make chickpeas in ginger sauce. (New York Times recipe.)
Stir together one cup of yogurt (thick yogurt is nice but not necessary) with a teaspoon of cumin (ground or whole seeds, or a bit of both), maybe a teaspoon of sugar (optional), and a quarter-teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste. Add a can of chickpeas and some diced crunchy vegetables, like bell peppers. It’s kind of a cross between a raita and a salad, but it’s substantial enough to be its own dish.
Sautee some onions and zucchini (or the other vegetable of your choice) with mustard seeds, coriander, and cumin (or the other spices of your choice) plus salt and pepper. Add rinsed chickpeas and cook until just heated through. Serve with rice or bread (or leftover cornbread, in that case).
You have to use dried chickpeas for this, but it was really good, both by itself and mixed in with bulgur the next day: Baked Basque-Style Chickpeas. (Also from NYT.) Halve the salt called for in the recipe. It’d probably work very nicely in a crockpot.
One that has, handwritten at the bottom, “omit chick peas.”
Cashew butter also works.
I’ll try that.
I really like sesame oil, though.
Yay! More for the rest of us!
I like to do a chickpea-tuna salad similar to the one mentioned above, and I also like to roast them with curry powder. Or just toss 'em on a green salad.
Boy, are you welcome to them.
While chickpeas are perhaps the yummiest of legumes, and I use them a lot, unfortunately they have the lowest nutritional profile among beans. Lentils, great northerns, and kidney beans are near the top of the list. Soybeans are by far the most nutritious of anything, but since nobody wants to eat soybeans qua beans (they’re best processed into other forms),* that leaves lentils as the most nutritious legumes that you can just put on a plate and eat as is.
*except for edamame
There are many delicious Indian vegetarian recipes using chickpeas.
The filling of this one:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rava-Dosas-with-Potato-Chickpea-Masala-356035
is similar to a dish called “aloo tikki cholle”, which is spiced chickpeas and potatoes. It is very tasty with rice and a dollop of plain yogurt.