Chickpea

As incredible as this may sound, I have to admit that I've never eaten chickpea until this month. And since I'm in a phase of trying out new dishes (hmm, I haven't had any special food cravings during pregnancy, but maybe this need to cook exotic and new dishes is my form of a pregnancy craving?),  I bought a package of chickpea.

For the first dish I chose a recipe I found online and here's a translation of it.

Chickpea minestrone

1 small-ish onion
1 can of tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
10 leaves of basil, chopped
1 cup of cooked chickpea
1 cup of cooked buckwheat noodles
2 tbl spoons of sour cream
oil
salt and pepper


To cook chickpea, soak it in water during the night and then cook it in salted water till it becomes soft (approx 1 and a half hours). Cook the noodles in slightly salted water. Finely chop the onion and saute it on oil until it's golden, add the chopped garlic and saute only until you can sense its smell but don't let it get brown as that will make it bitter.

Add the chopped basil and tomatoes and let it all simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the chickpea and noodles and cook for a bit longer so that the tastes mingle. Now add water so you'll get a consistency that you'll like.

Finally, salt and pepper the dish and add the sour cream. The original recipe also suggests you add two spoons of flour to thicken the soup, but I didn't add it as mine was thick just enough.


I also tried chickpea as a salad.

Chickpea and grilled pepper salad

2 cups of cooked chickpea
1 can of tuna
1 1/2 cup of grilled red pepper, sliced
parsley, finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
lemon juice
salt

In a large bowl, mix the chickpea, sliced red peppers and tuna which you broke into small pieces with a fork. Add parsley. Season with olive oil, lemon juice and a bit of salt (If you've salted the water you cooked the chickpea in, be careful not to add too much salt to the salad.) Mix well and serve.

Lars is here!

On Monday 5th, I gave birth to a healthy boy. We named him Lars. We're now home, slowly getting used to each other and to the new life style. This also means less blogging for me, at least for a while, but I hope to be back soon. :) :) :) :)

Spinach and apple tart

Here's another quick recipe that I came up with in these final days before I have to go to the hospital and a tiny  bawler turns my life upside down. ;)

Spinach and apple tart

For the pastry

120 g flour

60 g butter

a pinch of salt

2 tbl spoons of cold water

Put the flour in a bowl and then cut the butter into small pieces and add in. Add salt. Use your fingers to mix the flour and butter until you get a crumbly mixture. Add the two spoons of water and mix it in with a fork. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and uniform, but not too long as it will otherwise become hard when baked. Wrap the dough in kitchen foil and place it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Roll the pastry into a round shape and place it into the tart mould. Use a fork to pierce the pastry before placing it into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven (175°C).

For the filling

2 medium onions

200 g of spinach (I used frozen, organic spinach)

1 large apple

1 tbl spoon of olive oil

a handful of raisins

150 ml of cream

100 g of Parmesan cheese (grated)

salt

pepper

Finely chop the onions and sauté them on oil till they turn golden brown. Add the spinach. If you use whole leaves, chop them into smaller pieces before adding them in the pan. Stir and sauté for about five minutes, then salt to taste. Add the raisins and thinly sliced apples and leave it on the stove for another four to five minutes, then remove it from the heat.

Mix the cream and grated Parmesan cheese in a dish and add pepper.

Take the pastry out of the oven after 15 minutes and fill it with the spinach mixture. Return into the oven for another 10 minutes. 

Pour the cream and cheese mix over the tart, return it into the oven and raise the temperature to 190°C. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the cream starts to turn golden.

Friday

On this sunny Friday morning, I am eating Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake ...

Listening to Zaz ...

 

And leafing through the March issue of Saveurs ...

All about coffee

This morning I realized that my Burda Cover Coffee colored dress is actually the same color as my coffee container. lol. How's that for consistency?

Happy weekened everyone!