Chickpea Feta Salad with Dill

I got some great aged feta from Upinngil Farm that I used in this salad. Regular feta would work well, too, but I liked that the aged feta was firm enough to dice and had a slightly milder flavor. This salad is simple but hearty, satisfying, and delicious. It can form the basis for a good hot weather dinner when paired with one or more additional salads or alongside some bread, salami, and olives.

3 cups cooked chickpeas
4-6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small dice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill, or more to taste
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 4-6.

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Feta, and Dill

Another good main dish salad for hot weather. This one is especially good, as there is nothing in it that requires cooking. Just soak the bulgur until tender, then combine with other ingredients and serve. If it's not scape season, throw in some chives or a couple finely sliced scallions.

1 1/2 cups dry bulgur wheat
Water
1 garlic scape, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup dried tomatoes, soaked and finely chopped
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted and cooled
3-4 ounces crumbled feta
1-2 cups chopped snap or snow peas (optional)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the bulgur in cold water for an hour or so, or until tender, then drain. You can do this in advance and refrigerate the bulgur in a sealed container for a day or two if you like.

Combine the soaked bulgur with the scape, dill, chickpeas, dried tomatoes, walnuts, and feta. Drizzle with the lemon juice and a bit of olive oil. Stir well, adding more oil if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.

Greek Pasta with Chard, Tomatoes, and Dill

Dill and feta give this pasta dish a Greek flair.  It's loaded with greens, which are coming in fast and furious at this point in the season.

1 lb cut pasta (e.g. shells, rotini, etc)
Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped scapes
1 lb chard, well chopped
3 cups cooked chickpeas
3 cups chopped tomatoes (canned, or use fresh peeled paste tomatoes)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Crumbled feta for topping

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, then drain and toss with a little olive oil.

While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. Heat a little olive oil in a braising pan or Dutch oven.  Add the scapes and saute for 1-2 minutes, then add the chard (in batches if needed) and saute until wilted. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and oregano and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Stir in the dill and add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the pasta and sauce together and serve. Top generously with crumbled feta at the table.

Serves about 6.

Cheater's Chard and Chickpea Curry

The big cheat here is jarred curry sauce, turning this into a quick and easy meal that still uses a big load of fresh local veggies.  If you want to make it from scratch, minced a bunch of garlic and fresh ginger and add it after sauteing the onions, then add some garam masala and a bit of turmeric, and round it out with a little tomato paste.  Serve this over rice.

Canola oil
1 medium onion or a couple spring onions, diced
1 lb Swiss chard, chopped (1 large bunch)
3-4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 1/2-2 cups jarred Indian curry sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup chopped cashews, lightly toasted
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat some canola oil in a large skillet or other wide bottomed pan.  Add the onions and saute over medium heat until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the chard (you may need to do this in batches), stirring until nicely wilted.  Add the chickpeas and the sauce and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so.  Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

Serve over rice, topped with cashews and cilantro at the table.

Serves 4-6.

Moroccan Chicken and Chickpeas with Kale

A little turmeric makes this dish a cheery bright yellow.  It's simple and easy but tastes deliciously of somewhere else.  This is adapted from Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food, which I have recently acquired and am liking greatly.

You can use chicken legs, drumsticks, boneless thighs, even breasts here.  Or cut up a whole chicken and use it all (for a more generous number of servings).  Serve this over rice.

Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Chicken pieces for 4 people
2-4 tsp lemon juice (depending how tangy you like it)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
3-4 cups chopped kale, stemmed removed
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a braising pan, Dutch oven, or other wide bottomed pan.  Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 4-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the turmeric, then add the chicken, turning each piece over a few times to coat with turmeric.  Add the lemon juice, chickpeas, and 1/4 cup water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through (exact timing will depend on what you use for chicken pieces).  Stir occasionally and add a little more water if needed to keep it a bit soupy.  When the chicken is nearly done, add the kale, stir well, and cover again. When the chicken is done, add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice.

Serves about 4.

Greek Spinach Pasta with Lamb or Goat Sausage and Chickpeas

Still too early for asparagus, but local spinach is not too hard to come by. I keep finding new ways to puree it with pasta because it's about the only way I can get my four-year-old to eat the stuff. And it also makes for some tasty sauces. This one has a Greek flair, enhanced by the use of lamb or goat sausage. I used goat sausage from Hillman Farm.

1 lb cut pasta such as penne
Olive oil
1 large shallot or small onion, minced
1/2 - 3/4 lb spinach, stemmed and rinsed
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb lamb or goat sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chickpea

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain and toss with a little olive oil when done. While the pasta cooks, prepare the rest of the dish.

Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shallot or onion and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and saute over medium-high heat until wilted but not mushy. Remove from heat and puree in a food processor. Add the oregano, lemon juice, a splash of olive oil, and salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Reheat the skillet and cook the sausage, breaking it up as you go. Add the cooked sausage and chickpeas to the pasta, then stir in the sauce until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach Sauce, Chickpeas, and Blue Cheese

I loved aged blue cheese, and there are several nice local ones to choose from around here. Local spinach has also become fairly easy to come by through the winter, thanks to savvy farmers with unheated greenhouses.

1 lb dry pasta
3 Tbsp olive oil (1 + 2)
1 large shallot or small onion, minced
1/2 lb spinach, stemmed and rinsed
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk (whole is good, but use what you like)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
2-3 oz. crumbled blue cheese

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Prepare the sauce while you bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shallot or onion and saute for about 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and saute, stirring frequently, until it is wilted but not mushy. Remove from heat. Puree the spinach mixture until very smooth, then set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low-medium and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking until smooth. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly to get rid of the lumps. Continue to whisk as it thickens to a creamy consistency. Turn off the heat, then whisk in the spinach mixture until thoroughly combined. Add chickpeas, blue cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with a little olive oil, then add the sauce and stir to coat.

Serve hot.

Serves 4-6.

Greek-Style Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Chickpeas

This is a zesty alternative to the usual Italian style sauces. I particularly like it over soft polenta, but it's also good over pasta or spaghetti squash. If you like, substitute cooked cubed chicken for the chickpeas. Top with Parmesan. (This marked the end of my home canned tomatoes from last summer.)

olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups peeled tomatoes (canned or frozen), with some liquid drained off
1-2 tsp dried sage
Pinch of cinnamon
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked chickpeas

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and all the remaining ingredients. If using whole tomatoes, mash them up with a fork or the back of a spoon while they cook. Simmer for 15-30 minutes (or longer if you like). Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve over polenta, pasta, or spaghetti squash. Makes enough sauce for 1 lb pasta, polenta made from 1 1/2 cups dry cornmeal, or 1 medium spaghetti squash - enough to serve 4-6.

Winter Minestrone

A tasty, hearty, warming soup made from frozen and stored ingredients. If you happen to have a Parmesan rind, toss it in to flavor the broth and remove before serving.

Olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cups chopped tomatoes and their liquid (frozen or canned)
3-4 cups cooked chickpeas
2 medium carrots, in thin rounds
1 red bell pepper, diced (frozen is fine)
Water or stock (chicken or veggie) as needed
1 cup dry elbow macaroni or similar pasta
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat some olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic and onion and saute over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, carrots, and pepper, and enough water or stock to generously cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the pasta, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper. Return the soup to a boil, then simmer again until the pasta is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves at least 6.

Variations: substitute other vegetables with whatever you have.

Sausage Stew with Chickpeas

This was my first use of Hager Brothers sausage, available at Hager's Farm Market on route 2 in Shelburne. It was good!

I served this over butternut polenta, which was an excellent combination. But you could also eat it straight, perhaps with cornbread on the side.

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium-large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomatoes (canned or frozen) and their liquid (thawed if frozen)
2 bell peppers, diced (green or red, frozen is fine)
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 tsp dried sage
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the sausage in a Dutch oven or large pot, breaking it into chunks as it cooks. Pour off most of the fat, then add the garlic and onions and saute with the sausage for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, peppers, chickpeas, and sage and simmer for 10-30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 4 (4-6 if served with polenta).

Curried Zucchini and Tomatoes with Chick Peas

Yet another recipe that makes good use of piles of zucchini and tomatoes - it must be August! I hadn't made curry in a while, so this made a nice change from all the Mediterranean type things I've been cooking lately. This makes a good sized batch--you can halve it if you like, or freeze some for later. Serve this over rice.

1 Tbsp canola oil
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp minced ginger root
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 lbs paste tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 lbs zucchini, diced
3-4 cups cooked chick peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp flour for thickening (optional)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for about a minute over medium heat. Add the cumin, coriander, and some salt and pepper. Continue to saute, toasting the spices, for another minute or two. Add the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes, until soft. If things are sticking a lot, add a small splash of water. Stir in the tomatoes, zucchini, and chick peas, then cover and simmer until the vegetables are a bit soft, 15-20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

When the vegetables are soft, stir in the cilantro. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. If you want to thicken the curry a bit, scoop out a bit of the liquid into a small glass or bowl. Stir in about 1 Tbsp of flour to form a paste, then stir the paste back into the curry.

Serve over rice.

Serves about 6.

Barley with Fresh Fava Beans, Chickpeas, and Feta

I am back at last after a week and a half in California. The garden is suddenly brimming, and I swear all the plants grew a foot our two (or in some cases, like the potatoes, maybe more!) while we were gone.

Among the things ready on our return were fava beans, a crop we planted for the first time this year. My first exposure to them was in our CSA box when we lived in California several years ago. Fresh favas are a treat, plump, tender, and flavorful. But if you don't find any, feel free to substitute fresh peas. If you have more mature (larger) beans, taste one to see if the skin is bitter. If it is, dunk them in boiling water for a minute, then split the skin with your thumbnail and pop the beans out.

Here in Franklin County, everything in the recipe except the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper can be obtained from local growers/producers!

1 cup uncooked barley
2 1/2 cups water
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 - 1 cup finely chopped garlic scapes
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled fava beans
3 cups cooked chickpeas
1 cup crumbled feta
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mint
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the barley and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes for pearl barley, longer for hull barley).

While the barley cooks, heat a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet (reserve the rest). Add the scapes and saute over medium heat for 2 minutes or so, then add the fava beans and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes, just until tender.

When the barley is done, combine it in a large bowl with the scapes and fava beans, then mix in the chickpeas, feta, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, mint, and salt and pepper.

This dish can be served hot, room temperature, or chilled as a salad.

Serves about four as a main dish, more as a side dish.

Minestrone from the Freezer

Tonight I felt well enough to cook - and eat - a proper meal for the first time in a week. But I still wanted something sort of comforting. I pulled kidney beans, chickpeas, red peppers, green peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes out of my freezer and made this yummy soup. The frozen ingredients work great. You'll need to thaw the tomatoes and beans (at least partially) but the others can go in frozen. You can also try this again in the fall, when the weather has cooled enough for soup but the veggies are still all available fresh; you might even be able to score some fresh shell beans to use then.

olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chopped tomatoes and their liquid
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans or cannellini
2 medium carrots, in thin rounds
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 cup diced or shredded zucchini
Water or stock (chicken or veggie) as needed
1 cup dry elbow macaroni or similar pasta
1-2 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat some olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic and onion and saute over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, carrots, peppers, and zucchini, and enough water or stock to generously cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the pasta, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper. Return the soup to a boil, then simmer again until the pasta is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves at least 6.

Variations: substitute other vegetables with whatever you have.

Middle Eastern Pizza with Chickpeas and Herbs

I bought big bunches of parsley and mint at the farmers market this past weekend. I am still planning to make some parsley pesto out of them, along with some scapes, but there was enough for a few other endeavors as well. I also used chives from my garden and fresh mozzarella that I made over the weekend from Upinngil Farm milk. I wasn't totally certain that this was going to work as pizza, but it turned out to be really good.

Later in the summer I would use fresh tomatoes instead of sauce for this recipe. Actually, I did notice one vendor with tomatoes at the farmers market this weekend (cucumbers, too), but they were a standard variety conventionally grown and I figured we could wait for the good ones.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup coarsely mashed/chopped chickpeas
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp minced fresh mint
3-4 oz. mozzarella, shredded (or in chunks if fresh)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly paint the pizza crust with olive oil. Spread on the tomato sauce.

In a small bowl, combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper. Spread this mixture over the sauce, then sprinkle the chives, parsley and mint over the chickpeas. If using standard mozzarella, sprinkle it on top. If using fresh, start baking the pizza without it and add it in the last 3-5 minutes (I have found this keeps it from soaking in too much).

Bake the pizza for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is done and cheese is melted.

Serves 3-4.

Spicy Indian Potatoes and Chickpeas with Spinach

I scored some local spinach at the coop yesterday--yum! I combined it with some of the potatoes I picked up at Winter Fare in this delicious dish. I always serve this as a main dish, but it could work as a side dish, too.

4 medium potatoes, cubed
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 Tbsp ground cumin
1- 1 ½ Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala (optional)
½ tsp turmeric
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 lb spinach, washed and stemmed
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water they are almost cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet or a soup pot. Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala (if using), turmeric, black pepper, salt, and cayenne and stir, then quickly add the garlic, ginger, and onion. Sauté until the garlic and onions are tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the chickpeas to the pan. Mix together well, until chickpeas are thoroughly coated. Add the spinach and continue sautéing until the spinach wilts, about 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir to coat. Be careful not to turn them into mush. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture and stir.

Serve hot.

Serves 4-5.

Middle Eastern Chickpea and Red Lentil Soup

This is one of those pantry-based dishes...plus some local red onions and garlic, and cilantro from the freezer.

Lately I have been cooking up large batches of chickpeas, black beans, etc. and freezing some for uses like this. It's easy enough to cook up, say, several cups of chickpeas and use some for a batch of hummus, some for this soup, and put some in the freezer for next time.

6-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red onion, chopped
1-2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cups cooked chickpeas
3/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup bulgur wheat (substitute quinoa if you like)
1 veggie bouillon cube (optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-3 frozen cilantro cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a soup pot and saute the garlic and onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander and saute a minute or so longer. Add the chickpeas, lentils, bulgur, and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils and bulgur are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper.

Serves 4-5.

Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

This was my first big use of veggies from the freezer. If you have time, throw together some biscuits between adding the pasta and serving.

2/3 cup dried white beans
2/3 cup dried chickpeas
2 bell peppers, diced
2 cups carrot rounds
2-3 cups chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp dried oregano
2-3 tsp dried basil
2 cups vegetable bouillon
3/4 cup dried pasta (elbows or orzo work well)
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan for topping (optional)

Soak beans and chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. In the morning, drain, rinse, and place in slow cooker.

Add all ingredients except pasta and salt to the slow cooker with the beans and chickpeas. Add enough water to comfortably cover. Cook all day on low, or else on high for a few hours, then on low until ready to eat. When beans are tender, add salt.

Add pasta about 20-30 minutes before you are ready to eat. Top with grated Parmesan at the table if desired.

Serve 5-6.