Chickpea Frites

[cjs]

Oh these are good little goodies!!! Will do this again.



Chickpea Fries
NOTES : Park Kitchen . Portland, OR
At this excellent little restaurant, Scott Dolich (a Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef 2004) serves these crisp-outside-tender-inside jumbo fries with homemade pumpkin ketchup, but they're also wonderful on their own. He spikes the fries with sambal oelek, a bright red Southeast Asian chile sauce available at Asian markets.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion -- minced
4 garlic cloves -- minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
5 1/2 teaspoons sambal oelek
4 cups water
2 cups chickpea flour
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil -- for frying
All-purpose flour -- for dusting

Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and rosemary and cook over moderate heat until the onion is very tender, 6 minutes. Stir in the sambal oelek. Add the water and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the chickpea flour until smooth. Reduce the heat to low and whisk until very thick, about 6 minutes. Season with salt. Spread evenly in the oiled baking pan and press plastic wrap on the surface. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.

In a large pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350°. Cut the chickpea mixture into 4-by-3/4-inch fries and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly dust the fries with flour. Fry in batches until golden, 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels, season with salt and serve.

S(Internet Address):
"http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chickpea-fries-cocktails-2007"
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For those who don't like real spicy, you might want to cut back on the sambal oelek the first time and then go from there. I used the entire amount called for and they are spicy! But, with the sweetness of the ketchup, really good spicy! I didn't make pumpkin ketchup, but I'm thinking of looking for a recipe and doing that.

Today, I'm going to try 'oven frying' them and see if that works....

[Mare749]

My goodness, Jean, you do come up with the most amazing new dishes to try! This sounds a bit strange for our tastes, but definately interesting enough to try. Do you think the asian market would have the chick-pea flour?

[cjs]

Most larger supermarkets should have it, Maryann. The brand that is most common, I think, is Bob's Red Mill, Stone Ground Garbanzo Bean Flour.

New Dishes to try? Remember Maryann, I'm old, so I have to hurry and try everything I can!

[cjs]

Here's a follow up - on the chickpea fries. After I cut up into fry size, I froze 12 pcs., wrapped up and refrigerated the rest of the pieces and left for 2 days.

Last night (after the two days) I put a few on the grill leftover from frying and they were just as good as fresh.

But, the rest have not been 'fried' yet, so I can use them to bake.

This morning (3rd day), I put some olive oil on a baking sheet (just a little), rolled the pcs to slightly coat. Baked at 375 F. for 10 min., turned them and continued baking for another 7 minutes. At 375 they browned nicely and they are great!!

So, no more frying them! I'll try the ones I froze in the next couple of days.

Sharon, are you & Bob doing the gluten free thing? If so, these are gluten free - and the flour can be used to thicken soups, sauces or gravies. This is a great product!

[labradors]

Jean,

The garbanzo flour is not available at all, here, but there is not problem getting the garbanzos, themselves. Do you think buzzing the garbanzos in a food processor for a while would work (don't have a mill)?

Thanks.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Didn't you guys do a chickpea pattie or something a while back? This is very confusing. I have never liked these things, but it sounds like it would be a healthy alternative to fries. I KNOW I couldn't get chickpea flour unless online, but like labs, I could get the beans. I suppose the water would have to be adjusted....HMMM? Something to think about.

[labradors]

Daphne,

Maybe it depends upon how you've had them. When used as the base for Hummus or Falafel, they are quite good, and these fries sound rather intriguing.

[Gourmet_Mom]

I've only had hummus once, but liked it. (If memory serves, there was hummus in my appy at that Charlotte restro we visited a while back.) MANY years ago, I tried them (whole and probably straight out of a can) on a salad at a Pizza Hut and didn't like the texture at all! I think it's that experience that has turned me off. I think I may need to try my hand at some hummus before doing this.

I just checked...it was Chickpea Patties and Chickpea Cutlets that were the talk of the boards a while back. I knew there were chickpeas in here somewhere...LOL! Anyway, I had just assumed this was just a spin-off of that conversation. I will need to explore this further. I'll start with the hummus and go from there. Anybody got a REALLY good basic recipe? Nothing too exotic from the spice aisle.

[labradors]

Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

• 19-Oz Can Garbanzo beans
  
• 3 Cloves Garlic, peeled
  
• 1/2 Cup Water (approx.)
  
• 2 Tbsp Tahini (Sesame-seed paste)
  
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon [your normal lemons, not the giant ones here]
  
• 2 Tbsp Vinegar
  
• 1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 1 T Olive oil
  
• 1 1/2 Tsp Paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove any loose skins from the garbanzo beans, and rinse them.
   
2. Mince the garlic in a blender
   
3. Add the garbanzo beans to the blender.
   
4. Purée the mixture, adding water until easier to purée, but not soupy.
   
5. Blend in the tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, and salt, adding more water if necessary.
   
6. Either blend in the olive oil and paprika, or use as a garnish

Enjoy!

[cjs]

I'm thinking you need the flour for the fries - I guess it might be worth playing with. Daphne, I think you might be surprised at the flours a large market carries. would be worth calling them.