Chickpea Lessons in a Taxicab

By Andrew Hunter

With my travel schedule, I end up in a lot of taxicabs. I’m always curious about the drivers, where they’re from, and if they’re professionals, craftsmen or artists from a faraway place. Since it’s rude to ask such questions directly, I usually engage in conversation and their stories typically come flowing forth.

Meet Kareem, a Palestinian driver in Phoenix. I jumped into his taxi yesterday wearing my chef jacket; Kareem called me “Chef” with a reverence of someone from a fancy hotel background…turns out he once worked for the Ritz-Carlton. I reciprocated by asking respectful questions of him, which evolved into a discussion on mezze platters. I’m working on a mezze concept and so am especially interested.

Amongst Kareem’s many lessons in mezze – from pronunciation to composition to appropriate liquor to drink if you’re a Christian – I gleaned a prized nugget of culinary gold. He told me that the difference between yellow and white hummus is the water temperature. Use warm water for yellow and icy cold for white. It was clear in his explanation that white hummus is Kareem’s preference.

Today, Marilyn, Ben, Nick and I embarked on a chickpea lesson of our own. (Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same. Use them interchangeably.) We started with soaked chickpeas and turned them into three different dishes. First we seasoned them with olive oil, paprika, chile powder, garlic, salt and pepper, and roasted them in the oven for a crunchy snack. Then we chopped some into a paste with onion, parsley, garlic and toasted cumin for falafel, and finally we pureed the remainder with garlic, lemon juice and icy water to make hummus. “Never add olive oil to hummus, only drizzle it over hummus on the plate,” said Kareem.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

Falafel Pitas
2 cups chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), canned or soaked from dry
4 to 5 minced garlic cloves
1 minced yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon toasted cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
4 pita breads
Prepared hummus
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped

1. Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, parsley, sesame seeds and cumin in a food processor and process until the chickpeas are coarsely chopped and well combined with the seasonings. Carefully remove blade; season mixture with salt and pepper.

2. Wet your fingers, scoop up about and an ounce of falafel and roll into balls (about 1-inch diameter). In a deep pot, add enough oil to reach a depth of 2 inches; heat to 350 degrees and fry the balls in hot oil, until golden brown. Serve hot with pita bread, hummus, chopped cucumber, tomato and onion.

And if you ever hop into Kareem’s cab, let him know that his tips were well read and greatly appreciated!

Makes 4 servings

Note: To toast sesame seeds, put them in a dry pan over medium heat and toss them for about a minute until the seeds turn light brown and a few start to pop.

Note: To toast cumin, add spice to dry pan over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon just until cumin turns fragrant, a few seconds. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

Note: Purchase hummus or make your own.

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