Ottolenghi's Chickpea Cooking Method

"This is Yotam Ottolenghi's method for cooking chickpeas, which he learned from his friend Sami Tamimi's grandmother. Some people like to use this method to cook chickpeas for hummus, because it makes the skins very soft, and this results in a smoother hummus. The chickpeas are sautéed with baking soda for a few minutes, before dumping in the water to simmer the chickpeas. The baking soda makes the water more alkaline, which softens the chickpeas more quickly by weakening their pectic bonds. Also, sautéing the chickpeas with the baking soda before adding water adds a friction which helps break down the skins and gets the baking soda to penetrate the skin better. This allows them to cook much faster and puree smoother. NOTE - "preparation time" includes soaking time. This method also loosens and removes the skins on the chickpeas, so if your goal is to have whole, intact chickpeas for a recipe, this is not a good method to use."
 
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photo by gailanng photo by gailanng
photo by gailanng
photo by tdotspace photo by tdotspace
Ready In:
12hrs 40mins
Ingredients:
3
Yields:
4 cups
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ingredients

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directions

  • The night before, put the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with cold water at least twice their volume. Leave to soak overnight for at least 12 or up to 24 hours.
  • The next day, drain the chickpeas. Place a large pot over high heat and add the drained chickpeas and baking soda. Cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, skimming off any foam and any skins that float to the surface.
  • The chickpeas will need to cook for 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the type and freshness, sometimes even longer. Start checking them after 10 minutes, and then check every 2 minutes after that. Once done, they should be very tender, breaking up easily when pressed between your thumb and finger.

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Reviews

  1. Surely as green apples in July and ripe blueberries in June, I'm gonna make hummus. So much better than using the canned stuff.
     
  2. This method works extremely well, and since I started using it I haven't made hummus with canned chickpeas. The extra effort is absolutely worth it! I add a teaspoon of salt to the overnight soaking water - a Cook's Illustrated tip for brining dried beans.
     
  3. I came upon the best trick making this today! I found a way to filter out all the skins without having to peel/pick off even one! it's so laborious to do, and I just never would and then would be stuck with a disturbing amount of skins.... after i cooked them enough (it only took 10 mins), i drained them and then put them back in the pot and filled it with cold water; 1. to stop the cooking 2. to expedite the process of getting them in the freezer. when i started swishing the cold water around, i noticed that the skins started floating to the top! before letting them settle, i carefully drained just the water and yes! just the skins got filtered out! I did this several times until there was NO skins left!! This is very exciting for me :) look at all the skins that came off, none of which i had to do by hand!!
     
    • Review photo by tdotspace
  4. I used 1 tsp baking soda in 1/2 lb. soaked chickpeas. They turned brown and very mushy. I found, on my next trial, that the baking soda was totally unnecessary.
     
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Tweaks

  1. omitted baking soda
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I'm originally from Atlanta, GA, but I now live in Brooklyn, NY with my husband, cat, and dog. I'm a film and video editor, but cooking is my main hobby - if you can call something you do multiple times a day a hobby. <br />I enjoy all types of food, from molecular gastronomy to 70's suburban Mom type stuff. While I like to make recipes from cookbooks by true chefs, I don't turn my nose up at Campbell's Cream of Mushroom - I'm not a food snob. <br /> I love foods from all nations/cultures, and I am fortunate enough to live in NYC so I can go to restaurants which serve food from pretty much anywhere on the globe. Because of this most of my recipes tend to be in the Western European/American food tradition - I find it easier to pay the experts for more complicated delicacies such as Dosai, Pho &amp; Injera. I really enjoy having so many great food resources available to me here in NYC. One of my favorite stores is Kalustyan's http://www.kalustyans.com/ <br />they have every spice, bean, &amp; grain in the world. If there's something you can't find, look on their website. I bet they'll have it and they can ship it to you! <br />Many of my recipes are Southern, because that's the food I grew up on. I hope the recipes I have posted here will be useful to folks out in the 'zaar universe! <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PACfall08partic.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/flower753/Food/my3chefsnov2008.jpg alt= /></p>
 
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