Warm Chickpea Salad

The other day I was thumbing through Richard Olney’s classic cookbook ‘Simple French Food’ when I stumbled upon his warm chickpea salad. I say stumbled because I had read this book at least 1,000 times and never paid any attention to it before. The entry read more like a poem than a recipe. There were no measurements or numbered instructions to follow. In their place were the written reflections of years spent at a stove cooking. It felt much the same as when my mother shared her recipe for ratatouille with me. I took to my kitchen with Richard whispering in my ear.

I measured out my dried chickpeas and soaked them in a combination of melted snow water and wood ashes. His recipe called for rainwater but since I live in northern Vermont snow was much easier to find. The next day I simmered the chickpeas with onion, carrots, and herbs until they were impossibly tender then tossed them still warm with a splash of apple cider vinegar, a handful of chopped sweet onions, and a splash of Provencale olive oil. Heaven.

Thanks Richard, sometimes the simplest things are the best.

You can watch my video recipe here.

Warm Chickpea Salad

to soak the chickpeas

2 cups of dried chickpeas

1 pinch of wood ashes or baking soda

enough cold filtered water to cover the chickpeas by 4 inch

to cook the chickpeas

2 quarts of filtered water

1 onion piqued with 8 cloves

2 carrots

1 stalk celery

1 strip of dried orange peel

to serve the chickpeas

1/2 a sweet onion, chopped fine

2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons of flavorful olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

To soak the chickpeas, put them in a bowl with the ashes or baking soda and cover with cold water. The ashes (or baking soda) helps make the chickpeas more soluble and therefore more tender when cooked. Soak overnight.

To cook the chickpeas, thoroughly drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put in a Dutch oven covered with cold water, the onion, whole carrots, celery, and dried orange if you have it. In Richard’s original recipe he didn’t use dried orange but I like the undertones of citrus it lends the chickpeas so I include it. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 1.5 hours, or until tender. The older the chickpeas the longer they take to cook.

To serve the chickpeas, drain the chickpeas in a strainer then transfer to a bowl. Toss with vinegar, olive oil, and parsley. Season to taste and enjoy while still warm.