I love finding new treats in my local grocery stores. We went to HMart this weekend for a post-Passover stock-up of all things Asian. It’s one of our favorite stores, and when we have time, we love to wander the aisles. We love discovering new food territory for our tastebuds. My husband was browsing the produce area when he quickly ran to get me. He excitedly handed me this lovely plastic package and asked if I could do anything with it. The package held some beautiful, fresh green garbanzo beans. I quickly became excited with all of the possibilities.
Green garbanzo beans are freshly picked and harvested, unlike the traditional canned or dried yellow/tan chickpeas you can find at the store. These green chickpeas are much sweeter than the traditional variety.
What to do first? I rinsed off a bunch and plucked a few green chickpeas out of their shells and popped them in my mouth. Yum. They had a nice nuttiness and tasted very similar to fresh English peas.
I decided to sauté them in their shells and eat them like edamame. Spicing them with some sea salt, cumin and a bit of red pepper flakes. It definitely brought out the chickpea’s natural flavors and made it perfect for snacking. These were very addictive and would be perfect for serving with cocktails before a meal.
I have a couple cups of the garbanzo beans left and looking forward to playing with them further.
Fresh Garbanzo Beans (Green Chickpeas)
Ingredients:
2 cups Fresh green garbanzo beans in their pods
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. cumin
additional sea salt – to taste
Directions:
Heat up a large saute pan with olive oil.
Throw in the garbanzo beans and the spices and stir a bit. Let the beans char a bit.
Cook for a few minutes, stirring to incorporate the spices.
Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish to cool
Sprinkle with a bit more sea salt.
Squeeze the bean pod in to your mouth and eat like you would edamame, discarding the shells.
Enjoy!
About Hindy Garfinkel
how adventurous. I’ve never seen green garbanzo beans. I love what you did with them
love this! i’ve never used fresh garbanzos
so simple, i’m going to keep my eyes peeled for fresh garbanzos!
Wow! I’ve never seen these! Have to look because this is something I know I would love. Do they taste like edamame?
When raw, they taste most similar to an English Pea. When cooked, there is a creamier taste to it. They are so good!
So interesting, I never knew you could eat them this way! I’ll have to get my hands on some now!
Never worked with fresh green garbanzo beans! loving this post! I have to try!
We are kindred spirits, I love HMart too!!! Although I have found some other Asian markets in Queens that I prefer these days, Hmart was my first and they do a great job. I have never seen these though and I am so overdue for an Asian shopping, hope I can find them.
I have found that each of the HMarts have a different selection. I had a great time at Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown last week. I really need to take a field trip to Flushing. I am rarely out there, but I know they have some amazing stores.
i’ve never seen green garbanzo beans, so interesting!
I saw those at our local Asian market this weekend but was in a rush and didn’t get any – totally regretting it! Hope the season is long enough to try them next time.
I feel like I should have bought more for sure. Hoping to get back there soon.