Green garbanzos are now available frozen. This is a brand new product. Costco has a deal with the packer Califresh. I just picked up a bag at Costco, and they should soon be available all over the US.
This is exciting because green garbanzos have a very short season, and haven’t previously been available, fresh or frozen, outside of the immediate growing area. But they are a prize in India, Mexico, and throughout the Mid-East. Califresh and another company, Clearwater Country, are betting they have a winner. We will probably soon see the effects of their marketing campaign on cooking shows and food websites. If you’re looking for some recipes to start with, check out the websites at Clearwater Country and Califresh.
Green garbanzos should be cooked. You can blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling, salted water, then drain and cool for use in salads, green hummus, etc, or simmer then in soup for much longer, 45 minutes, to soften more.
I’ve seen a few recipes for green garbanzo guacamole, which simply involves puréeing or mashing the blanched garbanzos, and then mashing them together with the avocado and other guacamole ingredients.
Last night I tried them for the first time, and they were delicious. I’m afraid I don’t have a picture, but I can describe what I made.
I pan-roasted some 1″ cauliflower pieces in olive oil, until they were quite browned or even charred in spots on the outsides, but just barely cooked in the middle, then I reserved these. In a large skillet, I browned some ground beef with onions and a little soy sauce, then added a big handful of the green garbanzos and enough beef stock to nearly cover all. Then I returned the cauliflower to the pan, and also added a large tomato, chopped, a couple tablespoons ketchup, a pinch or dry oregano, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I let that simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then added some WW-flour-and-water paste, and let it simmer for a couple more minutes to thicken the sauce. I served this with garlic bread.
To make the garlic bread, I used a fresh loaf of artisinal pugliese bread (like Italian bread), split lengthwise. I mixed soft butter and mayonnaise 50-50, added smashed garlic, then enough shredded parmesan to make a paste. I spread that on the bread. Then I shaved some onion as thinly as possible, pressed that into the cheese mixture, and topped with fresh-cracked black pepper. Then I baked at 400ºF for about 20 minutes until very browned and crusty.
Following is a picture of a nice salad featuring green garbanzos, along with cucumber, tomato and feta.
- Derrick Snyder