Dr. Amy Doherty

After I made that creamy greens dip/soup, I thought about all the uses for garbanzo beans to add creaminess to dishes.  Think about it: you can switch from eating dairy (something high in fat, cholesterol, and linked to prostate cancer and increased fracture risk) to beans,  which lower cholesterol/inflammation/blood pressure/blood glucose and diabetes markers all kinds of bad things. #winning

I mashed up a bunch of these chickpeas and added some tahini and garlic powder and pepper to make a thick paste.  I guess I can only use it for savory dishes now; should have waited on the garlic/pepper.  I’ve had really good chocolate chip cookies with the main ingredient being garbanzo beans.  Today I made an amalgamation risotto type dish.  I had Farro lying around, so I used that as the grain.  I sautéed frozen broccoli and collards, garlic and onion together, added the farro, and made a tangy sauce by mixing a portion of the bean paste with apple cider vinegar until it became a more mix-able consistency, added some orange zest and a pinch of salt.  It was super creamy and… risotto-y.  If you don’t have orange zest that’s fine, experiment! If I peel an orange to eat it, I often just freeze the peel so I can use it at times like these.  The peel is the most antioxidant-rich part of the fruit, might as well not waste it.  I plan on doing all kinds of creamy dishes using garbanzo beans instead of cheese over the course of the next week with this paste.