Thursday, December 17, 2009

Chickpeas with Arugula and Sherry AND making a dessert simultaneously - Don't Try This At Home......

Join over at I Heart Cooking Club for Nigella's latest inspirations for the theme Potluck.........


Nigella makes this one in a wok, although it’s not a stir fry. It was nice. That is the only adjective I can summon, I just don't know how to describe it.

Mainly because I had a major cock-up while trying to prepare it AND make a dessert And heat leftovers for dinner.

Too much going on bowl and measurement wise, too little counter to separate aforementioned bowls, and..oh yeah...poor judgment. Hmmmmmmmm


Anyway, you'll need the following.........


1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons cumin

2 14-oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

8 cups arugula salad or other tender mixed greens

¼ cup rich cream sherry

½ teaspoon table salt



Heat the oil and cumin in a wok or your desired cooking pan………….



Drain the chickpeas........




(NOTE: What I was meant to do is dump the drained chickpeas into the bowl of mixed greens. Sadly, the bowl with the greens was to my right. The bowl I thought had the greens, in my path dead on, was in fact a bowl with measured out flour, cinnamon, baking powder, brown sugar...

Watching the chickpeas float in slow motion from the colander toward the flour mix, I cried out noooooooooo...but they tumbled on in anyway. I will be making this dessert at a later time.)



Anyway, back to the recipe.......

Add chickpeas, greens, sherry and salt….give a good stir and continue stirring over heat until the arugula has wilted, the chickpeas have warmed through and the liquid has reduced a bit.



That’s it…how easy is that? You can eat it as a side or have for a lunch with hard boiled eggs on top.


What most definitely changed the taste in this dish was the fact that I am furiously trying to pull chickpeas out of the flour mixture so I have enough for the dish. Many were coated in flour, naturally, and some just were too embedded so I left them.

And then I see we didn't have sherry (I don't like it - too sweet for me) but we did have Marsala. As you probably know, sherry and marsala are not substitutions for one another. No siree......so yeah, the end product was...nice.


Nigella Express, Against the Clock section, page 155

12 comments:

  1. It's the right time of year to be doing some major "creative" pairings in the kitchen. Since I had to make brownies tonight (right around dinner time) I went with McD's!! That effectively thwarted any cocoa covered pork loin for me (although that might be pretty good, come to think of it).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh No!! Looks like you salvaged the salad pretty well, though and it sounds good with the Marsala. hmmmm...sweet chickpeas...might be good! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Not a hard boiled egg, I am seeing a poached egg with that great runny middle

    ReplyDelete
  4. I called out also when I read what you did. I said, "no." I can remember doing similar things and these are times we have to learn to laugh. Not always easy.

    Your salad looks great though so you got something out of it.

    Thanks for sharing. It makes the rest of us mistake makers, feel a little better .

    ReplyDelete
  5. It stinks when you have kitchen accidents, but the chickpeas look great. I've looked at this recipe many times, but like you I always have marsala and never have sherry. I can see how this would be tasty with any kind of egg on top.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh ur accident seems good here-u've got a great looking salad here and i love it-thanx for the recipe-i love chicikpeas and mus make this soon for IHCC

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh no! We have all had days like that.
    Reminds me of the Friends episode where Rachel makes the trifle with ground beef, peas and onions. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. that looks like escarole, no? not arugula...

    it looks yummy...I never do the wilted salad thing, must try...

    I like that you share mishaps...I certainly have my share.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Janel - cocoa on pork would be amazing! I just didn't think chickpeas in an apple raisin bar would be at all good.

    Girlichef - I think I didn't like the salad cooked in. Maybe that was it.

    Year on the Grill - true that, a poached would be better.

    Sweet and Savory - thank you, I sometimes feel like I am the only one making screw ups like this! Thank you for your comments :-)

    Kim, At least it wasn't a main course and ruined dinner. Like dropping the pan of lasagna right out of the oven. That would suck. It turned out Ok but I wouldn't make it again.

    Thank you VanillaStrawberry. Let me know how yours turns out.

    Natashya - I don't think I saw that Friends episode but yeah, it wa slike that.

    MonicaJane - it was a from a bag of mixed greens rather than a hunk of arugula. Good eye!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, dear! Well, at least you saved the salad and the chickpeas look yummy! I like the addition of Marsala.

    ReplyDelete
  11. at least it looks good! I have done similar things--very frustrating. I have this one marked to try and some sherry but just need to make it. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. 5 Star Foodie - it seemed a disaster at the time (and it kinda was) but it's funny now. AND I finally made the apple bars last night!

    Deb - Do you like sherry? Maybe cooking with it would make it more tasty to me :-)

    ReplyDelete

It's been a good run...........