Roasted chickpea bruschetta
When it comes to coaxing your kids into eating legumes, you could do worse than taking inspiration from a chef who named his flagship restaurant the Italian equivalent of "Daddy." (The restaurant would be Babbo. The chef would be Mario Batali.) This is a rip-off (or what I prefer to call a "riff off," as I didn't have the recipe and tweaked it a bit) of Babbo's freebie amuse bouche (and if Babbo is giving it away to each and every diner, that's the first sign that this is an incredibly cheap dish to make). The kids love this. The adults love this. The wallet loves this.
Makes 4 Servings.
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A handful or two chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup finely chopped olives (I used a mix of some good green ones filled out with super cheap, jarred, martini-style
- green olives and kalamatas)
- Garlic
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 baguette loaf, sliced and toasted
Preheat the oven to 450?F. On a cookie or baking sheet, spread out the chickpeas and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Roast for 20 minutes or so, or until golden brown. In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas with the chopped parsley, olives, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Serve on toasted slices of baguette. The spherical little beans tend to roll off the bread if you're eating too hastily, but chasing down stray chickpeas makes it all the more fun.
Hugh also provides this recipe:
CURRY UP
Here's a curry we play around with. It's not a strict formula by any means, but always has an onion, some starchy potato-like thing, some seasonal vegetables, and, of course, Indian spices. It's all about a sauté, a spice, a simmer. We serve it with rice, of course. Basmati is best, but don't fret if you don't have it.
Makes 4 Servings.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- Olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- Salt
- 1 16-ounce can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups extra firm tofu, cubed
- 1 bunch asparagus, cut into inch-long pieces
- Fresh cilantro
In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the spices and cook for several minutes. Add both potatoes, then some salt, and stir. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and bay leaf, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes; add a bit of water if necessary. Add the tofu and asparagus and cook until the asparagus is tender and the tofu is heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Garnish with cilantro.
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About Hugh Garvey:
Hugh Garvey is the Features Editor at Bon Appétit, and has written about food, culture, and lifestyle for publications including Cookie, Wired, GQ, Travel and Leisure, and T: the New York Times Style Magazine, among others. At the Village Voice, Garvey created and wrote the paper's first cocktail column, "Liquid City." He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children, 8-year-old Violet and 5-year-old Desmond, both of whom have happily eaten Stilton cheese, grilled octopus, and black bear ham -- and asked for seconds.
