Fresh Garbanzo Bean Hummus
When I was a kid there were only two things on a salad bar that I would eat – black olives and garbanzo beans. The olives had that nice irresistible salty, tinny flavor and the garbanzos were like some magical vegetable candy with snappy skins and a hidden creamy center. Fast forward 30 years to the veggie kingdom of Northern California. It was here that I learned that figs were not exclusive to the Newton and that you could actually get non canned garbanzos. Truthfully, over the years I haven’t come across a ton of fresh garbanzos at most markets; possibly because it’s still too foreign to most folks. So when I found them on my wholesalers produce list I jumped at the opportunity.
Fresh garbanzos are very different from their canned cousins. They are not yellow and dense rather light green and snappy. You can eat them raw, sauté them or roast them in an oven. Toss them with a little sea salt, fresh pepper and lemon juice and you have the makings for the perfect snack!
I decided to test them out using very simple techniques and recipes. We had them as a snack and also used some to make some hummus. I roasted them, un-peeled on a sheet pan in an oven set at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, let them cool, then took off the skins. In the food processor they broke down effortlessly and became creamy in a matter of seconds. The dip came out, well.. magical!
And this is simply why I love to cook so much. At every turn some new food or recipe pops up for me to play with. It’s a nonstop journey of fun and fulfillment. Hopefully you’ll come across fresh garbanzos someday and will have the opportunity to make some yourself. If not then I encourage you to just try something new. Set aside your recipe rolodex and throw caution into the wind. It’s well worth it! Trust me…
Have fun in the kitchen- always!
Chef StevO
Fresh Garbanzo Hummus
2 cups “fresh” garbanzo beans
2/3 cup tahini
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Pinch each of; ground cumin and ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a food processor, puree the garbanzos, tahini, 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, garlic, cumin and coriander until smooth, adding more olive oil if the mixture seems too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Garnish with paprika and olive oil. Serve with toasted pita.
I am bummed that I have never seen these at my local farmers’ market. They sound like a fun alternative to the canned or dried varieties.
Comment by Kelly — October 12, 2009 @ 3:55 pm
Those were my two faves at the salad bar, too! Especially the garbanzos. And while I figured out that there were non-Newton figs a while ago, this is the first time I have ever seen or heard of fresh garbanzos. I gotta get myself some of those, they look wonderful. Thanks for the heads up!
Comment by Anne — October 13, 2009 @ 11:26 am
You’ve inspired me. After a little googling I’ve found out that one can grow a garbanzo plant from a regular old dried garbanzo bean. Apparently they do well in CA, as long as they don’t get too hot. Some suggest planting now in mild winter areas, others say to plant just before the av. date of last frost (I’m guessing that’s Feb in the East Bay).
I’m going to pop a few in my garden and see what happens!
Comment by Sis — October 15, 2009 @ 5:53 am
This sounds delicious. I have never ever stopped to think about what a fresh garbanzo bean might look like. I’ve learned my “something new” for the day.
Comment by Heather O'Neill — October 15, 2009 @ 10:26 am
Thank you for this recipe! I’d never seen them before, but scored two pounds of pre-shucked ones at Costco today (for $4
, immediately found this, and varied it only by sauteing the garlic/cumin/coriander in sesame oil (from the top of the tahini jar) and mixing in a fair amount of picante pimenton. I probably also doubled the garlic just by reflex.
The pimenton, a nice, smoky flavour addition, was nonetheless a serious mistake because it destroyed the quite fantastic pea-green colour. Next time I’ll use invisible amounts of lapsang souchong for smoke and cayenne for heat.
But the end result was, in a word, knickerdropping.
Comment by Steve F — April 13, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
Olive oil is very tasty and has some nutty taste too.:”
Comment by Charlotte Wright — June 17, 2010 @ 6:38 pm
the taste of olive oil is very very good, it is one of the best tasting cooking oils out there”*’
Comment by NPN Transistor : — October 24, 2010 @ 11:03 am
Tried this recipe today after years of seeing fresh garbanzos at the market. Delish! Thanks!
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Kudos to that!
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