I’ve had this post skeleton scheduled for a few weeks, but I guess it’s coming at the right time, as many of us are staying at home as part of social distancing, self-quarantine and isolation. Many of us have also stocked up on pantry staples, but if you can’t go out very often to replenish, you might find yourself eating the same things over and over. Even if you can go out, you might find this; the recipes in this post come from a week in early January when I was working from home, made a ton of chickpeas and then had to figure out how to use them all (plus homemade bread plus the labneh that had been languishing in my fridge). I did what I do best: consulted the internet and my cookbook collection to figure it all out.
In January, I also started keeping very idle track of what I was eating, to serve as inspiration for future meals. I’m really talented at making something I loved and immediately forgetting how I did it or what was in it, plus I photograph a lot of my home cooking, so this was me trying to make sure I wasn’t going to forget how I made, say, cacio e pepe monkey bread (someday!). If you look at the first week of the year, there are a few recurring things: labneh; toast; labneh toast; chickpeas; soft-boiled eggs.
Similarly, while working from home for the last couple of weeks, things recur: beans; soft-boiled eggs (what can I say, I love a runny yolk); homemade bread. I’m not getting bored because I absolutely love eating the same things repetitively until I move on to something new, so if you’re like me, you might get some lockdown inspiration from this post. If nothing else, I hope it inspires you to remix your favorite ingredients to get a bunch of similar but different dishes.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone. Thanks for reading.
Turmeric-soaked chickpeas
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
The basket
1 lb dried chickpeas
1 tbsp turmeric powder
6 cups water
Salt
The path
Rinse the dried chickpeas and combine with turmeric and water in a large pot. Soak overnight or for six hours. When done soaking, bring to a boil over high heat. (You may want to add more water before you do this — the chickpeas should be covered by about an inch of water.) Lower to a simmer, and cook through, for about 40-60 minutes. Drain, and keep the liquid. Store both beans and liquid in the fridge.
Frizzled turmeric chickpeas on labneh toast
Adapted from Alison Roman, Nothing Fancy
Serves 1
The basket
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 recipe of turmeric-soaked chickpeas
2 smashed garlic cloves
Dried marjoram
1 slice of bread
Labneh
The path
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a cast iron pan. Add chickpeas, garlic, and marjoram, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Cook until chickpeas are golden brown, shaking the pan occasionally so that they all get evenly cooked.
Toast your slice of bread (I recommend toasting it quite dark, as in the photo above), then smear with labneh. Scoop chickpeas on top. Eat.
Also: Another great way to eat this (and the method pictured above) is to add a soft-boiled egg (boiled for 5 minutes, no more, no less!) and flick some smoked salt on top of everything.
Spaghetti with labneh sauce and chickpeas
Sauce adapted from Maureen Abood
Serves 2
The basket
1/2 lb dried spaghetti
Kosher salt
3/4 cup labneh
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup frizzled chickpeas
Dried marjoram
The path
Bring heavily salted water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. When it reaches a rolling boil, add about half a box of spaghetti, and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving about a cup of cooking water.
Add labneh, parmesan, and a splash of cooking water to a pot or pan, over low heat, whisking until smooth. (Add water as needed to achieve this.) Season to taste. Add the pasta and chickpeas to this sauce, and toss until the pasta is coated (again, add water as needed to make the sauce creamy). Shake some dried marjoram over the top of all of it, and serve.
Turmeric chickpeas and rice with labneh toast
Adapted from Victoria Granof, Chickpeas
Serves 4
The basket
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced, or 1 tbsp dried onions
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice, like basmati or jasmine
1 cup turmeric chickpeas
2 cups turmeric chickpea broth
Labneh
4 slices sourdough bread
The path
Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt, and stir to cook until the onion is soft light brown (5-7 minutes if you’re using a fresh onion, 1 if it’s dried). Add the rice, chickpeas, and broth, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
During this time, toast your bread. Smear thickly with labneh. To serve, put a slice of toast on each plate, and spoon the rice and chickpeas on top. Eat. Burn your tongue. Regret none of it.
This is actually a photo of the first time I made the basic chickpeas and rice recipe during the month I was cooking Chickpeas, but I don’t have a photo of the turmeric version, so just imagine a lot more yellow/orange.