Gluten-Free, Vegan Chickpea and Pumpkin Burger. Ready to eat.

There are lots and lots and lots of amazing, delicious and Surprising Chickpea Recipes out there. Chickpeas are possibly my favourite bean. Mostly because you can make vegan meringue out of chickpea juice. If there was one thing I missed in my years as a vegan it was meringue. I had switched off the meringue part of my brain, so it didn’t really bother me, but sometimes wondered about whether food technology had caught up with vegan meringue. And then chickpea juice (AKA aquafaba) was EVERYWHERE!!!

What Are Chickpeas And What Do You Do With Them???

The chickpea (AKA chick pea) Cicer arietinum is a legume. The varieties of chickpea and the flours and soaking juice are known by lots of different names throughout the world. For example chickpea flour is known as gram flour or besan in South Asia and is used frequently in South Asian cuisine. Garbanzo beans are the Spanish name.

Chickpeas are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes: 7,500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.

Fresh chickpeas are usually rapidly boiled for 10 minutes and then simmered for a longer period. Dried chickpeas need a long cooking time (1–2 hours). Personally, I buy tinned chickpeas. It makes my life a little bit easier and I get the chickpea juice too!

A quick gallop around the world with some examples of the versatility of chickpeas!!!

In Spain, chickpeas are used cold in tapas and salads
In Italy, chickpeas are eaten with pasta or in soup. In southern Italy, chickpea flour is made into a batter for panelle, a sort of thick pancake
In Egypt, chickpeas are used as a topping for kushari
Hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas, which are often cooked and ground into a paste and mixed with tahina (sesame seed paste)
Chickpeas are roasted, spiced, and eaten as a snack, such as leblebi
Some varieties of chickpeas can be popped and eaten like popcorn
Chickpeas and Bengal grams are used to make curries and are one of the most popular vegetarian foods in the Indian subcontinent
In India, as well as in the Levant, unripe chickpeas are often picked out of the pod and eaten as a raw snack and the leaves are eaten as a leaf vegetable in salads
Chickpea flour is used to make “Burmese tofu” which was first known among the Shan people of Burma
In South Asian cuisine the flour (besan) is used as a batter to coat vegetables before deep frying to make pakoras
Chickpea flour is used to make the Mediterranean flatbread socca/ panisse in Provence
In Tuscany chickpea flour (farina di ceci) is used to make an oven baked pancake: the flour is mixed with water, oil and salt
In the Philippines, chickpeas preserved in syrup are eaten as sweets and in desserts such as halo-halo
Sephardic Jews traditionally serve whole chickpeas at a Shalom Zachar celebration for baby boys
Guasanas are a Mexican chickpea recipe in which the beans are cooked in water and salt
Let’s not forget chickpea juice (AKA aquafaba) which you can use in the same way egg white is used. Magical!

My Favourite Gluten-Free, Vegan Chickpea Recipes????

Chickpeas are more than sweet stuff to me they are super versatile and adaptable, from dips, to mains and dessert. These are a Five Surprising Chickpea Recipes.
All totally Gluten-Free | Vegan | Allergy-Friendly | Seasonal …and… onion-free, garlic-free and coconut-free.

Chickpea and Pumpkin Burger

Chickpea and Pumpkin Burger is great for TV night, with pickle, Sauerkraut, ketchup and if you are really hungry… chips!!!

Houmous – Garlic Free

I like my Houmous – Garlic Free. I don’t eat garlic so I made my own recipe. Easy, quick, cheap, nutritious and delicious. I adore houmous (humus and all the other spellings) as a dip, as a salad dressing, in a burger, on gluten-free, vegan toast, on and in almost anything. The ultimate versatile food.

Chard, Courgette and Pea Tart

Chard, Courgette and Pea Tart isn’t just sophisticated to look at the taste and texture are also on another level. Great for picnics or dinner parties. It’s not just the chickpea that is versatile, it’s the end product.

Strawberry and Raspberry Eaton Mess

Strawberry and Raspberry Eaton Mess (not Eton Mess as it is usually known – this is my update) is the ultimate summer pudding. Light, crisp, fresh and wonderful. I could eat it all summer.

Blackberry and Almond Chocolate Mousse

Blackberry and Almond Chocolate Mousse is a great pudding when you have a great bunch of friends around for dinner. Another sophisticated dessert from a versatile set of ingredients.