Give chickpeas a chance

I HAVE OFTEN wondered where the cute and cuddly word "chickpea" comes from because it describes such a hardy and no-nonsense legume. Over the years, I've heard soppy romantics call each other their "sweet little chickpea" but never have I heard anyone call their loved one a "darling lentil" or "precious little kidney bean". Seemingly, the Latin name for chickpea is cicer arietinumbecause the Roman orator, Cicero, had an ancestor who had a wart on his face shaped like a chickpea.

I guess anyone guilty of calling their special someone a chickpea will have to have a drastic rethink after reading this. And if you’ve been the recipient of such name-calling over the years, now is the time to make a stand.

I often use tinned chickpeas at home, as they really are a gourmet fast food, but at work, as with most commercial kitchens, we soak and boil them from scratch.

For the soup below, or for home-made hummus, tinned ones are fine, but if you’re making things such as falafel or chickpea salad there is merit in using dried chickpeas, which must be rinsed really well and carefully picked over to remove tiny stones. After that, soak them overnight in cold water and then drain, rinse and cook them in four times their volume of water and simmer for two to three hours until tender. Don’t add salt to the water at the start because this toughens them up during cooking. It can be added for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Rinse well, drain and, when cold and well drained, mix with your favourite dressings and salad ingredients.

In the first recipe, you can avoid that hard labour: it just calls for a tin opener and blender or soup gun to purée.

The next recipe was a bit of a mistake that ended up as a delicious accompaniment to roast chicken. I was hoping to make a baked ricotta (which I’d eaten in London’s River Café), but I came home with mascarpone instead of ricotta. I was too lazy to return to the shop so I used the mascarpone, and we ended up scoffing this savoury “custard”. I love an experiment that goes awry but somehow ends well.

Chickpea soup with curry prawns

Serves four

4tbs olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tins of chickpeas, drained

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

1tsp coriander seeds, crushed

200ml white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

Bunch of chives, finely chopped

In a large saucepan, sweat the olive oil, onion and garlic together until soft. Season well and don’t allow it to brown. Chuck in the rest of the ingredients (except the chives) and heat through. Simmer gently for five minutes, then mix in a blender or with a soup gun until it is smooth. Return it to the saucepan and check the seasoning. Pour into bowls, garnish with curry prawns, or just the chives and an extra swirl of olive oil.

Curry prawns

Allow about two to three cooked tiger prawns per person

1tsp curry powder

Big knob of butter

Salt and pepper

I used cooked frozen tiger prawns, allowing them to defrost thoroughly before patting them dry. Heat up the butter until it is foaming. Add the curry powder and then chuck in the prawns and, keeping the heat up high, toss around the pan until they are well coated and hot. Season with salt and pepper, and add to the soup as garnish.

Parmesan ‘custard’

This is a delicious, light, foamy but full-bodied savoury custard that goes well with grilled chicken, but would also be good served with crusty bread and salad, or cooked asparagus for brunch. It is rich and delicious, so a few spoonfuls go a long way. After you’ve made this once, feel free to tweak the seasonings. I imagine nutmeg, without the chilli flakes, would be delicious.

Serves two to three as a side dish -

Knob of butter

250g tub mascarpone

2 egg yolks

100g Parmesan, finely grated

Few sprigs of thyme leaves

Salt and pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch of chilli flakes

Use buttered ramekins or a small soufflé dish for this. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/gas 3. Whisk all the ingredients together and season well. Divide the mixture into the small ramekins or soufflé dish. Place in a deep roasting tin, which you need to half fill with boiling water, to make a bain-marie. Bake for about 30-40 minutes (they will cook quicker in smaller ramekins) until still a little soft in the centre, but firm-ish on the outside. Remove from the bain-marie, cool, and eat while still warm.

See also itsa.ie

Domini suggests . . . Make use of this weather. Grab a sandwich and eat your lunch outside, near anything green! It will taste delicious. Maybe plan a picnic at the Japanese Gardens in Tully, Co Kildare, which is celebrating its centenary