Chickpea Confit

My last blog was about garlic confit, a recipe I found in How to Roast a Lamb.  While I was doing the whole confit thing, I went ahead and made chickpea confit, too.  There was a bit of irony to this recipe, because I used canned chickpeas, which are already shelf-stable, and made what is essentially a preserve out of them.  But it's another kind of deliciousness, so let's not get hung up on that.





Chickpea Confit (By Michael Psilakis)
1 head Garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard seeds
28 oz. canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
Kosher salt
Pepper
Canola Oil
Olive Oil

Separate and peel the garlic cloves, and rinse and thoroughly drain the chickpeas.  Preheat the oven to 325˚F.  Combine the garlic, cumin, mustard seeds, and chickpeas in a heavy, oven-safe pot.  Season with salt and pepper, and pour in equal amounts of olive and canola oils until everything is just barely covered.  Place the lid on the pot and cook about 45 minutes, until "aromatic but not browned."

Sterilize a jar.  After the chickpeas are finished, let them cool and transfer them and their oil into the jar. Store in the refrigerator, and enjoy the delicious chickpeas and cumin-flavored oil.

When I decided to make this, I wondered what I would do with a bunch of chickpeas.  I had a vague idea that I could make some amazingly awesome hummus.  I still haven't done so (I've gotten hung up on tahini), but I've made excellent salads.  The oil is great for a vinaigrette, and the chickpeas themselves are a nice topping to a salad.  Make your salad even fancier by adding home-made croutons toasted in the oil.  The chickpeas are also ideal for fritters or burgers, bringing rich flavor that they don't necessarily have.

Probably my favorite thing that I did with these, though, was a fresh tomato salad.  I cut up some tomatoes and some fresh, mild-flavored cheese (I used Babybel, because I had some, but mozzarella or queso fresco would be equally nice).  I tossed them together with some of the chickpea confit, a bit of balsamic vinegar, a tiny drizzle of oil from the garlic confit (just to give it a little more garlic flavor), and some thyme.  It was delicious, healthy, and a great side dish or snack.