Garbanzos : A Boy’s Own Bean

Garbanzo beans are manly beans. At least they are in those parts of the Mediterranean where they are prepared for men by other men.

In Syria, there are special restaurants where garbanzos (also known as chick peas) are prepared in numerous ways by a specialist, called a hamsani . The garbanzos, cooked very slowly in a fired oven, have a meltingly soft texture and delicious flavor.

A dish of cooked garbanzos and crumbled pita, onions and “white” oil (a highly acidic and unusual mixture of cold water, baking soda, garlic and cold, old olive oil) is a favorite among men when they get together to play cards. It is called fatteh bi-zeit , which means “shredded bread with oil.” It is literally a dish that one can fix while someone shuffles the deck.

While Syrian men eat this snack in the evening during card games, in neighboring southeastern Turkey a similar dish is eaten for breakfast. Again, it is a dish prepared for men by other men. In the central market of Gaziantep, I came upon a covered shelter along one wall, shaded, cool, dimly lit, nearly as large as a railroad station waiting room. Here a couple of hundred men were sitting around sipping tea and eating nohutlu durum , a rolled-up round of thick pita filled with garbanzos, slivered onions, parsley, red pepper and sumac. The garbanzos had simmered all night in a broth flavored with lamb bones. Unfortunately, it is more interesting to describe than it was to eat.

In the streets of Tunis there are numerous hole-in-the-wall soup kitchens that serve nothing but garbanzo soup. Here garbanzos simmer overnight, with calves’ feet or marrow bones added to give heft and flavor. The soup is served in deep earthen bowls ladled over stale bread cubes, then slathered with fiery harissa sauce and accented with ground cumin, lemon juice and plenty of olive oil.

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The dish is affectionately called leblebi , a name that imitates the bellowing of a ram in heat, according to a Tunisian philologist, Ouled-Abdessayed Khamais. (In Turkey, the word refers to char-roasted garbanzos.)

“When you eat leblebi ,” a friend once counseled me, “bring a handkerchief, because the dish is so hot with spices that the nose runs ferociously.”

Stimulating as the street version is, it can be further embellished with the favorite Tunisian garnish of canned tuna, capers, pickled vegetables and hard-boiled eggs. (In private homes, a poached egg is substituted.) In this form it becomes an entire meal.

Here is a good tip from Tunisian home cooks. During the period of Ramadan, they store garbanzos and fava beans, previously soaked and drained, in airtight containers in the freezer. Every day a handful of each is thrown into the soup to be served to break the fast that night. The garbanzos and favas keep well for up to a month, and it’s not necessary to defrost them first.

Garbanzos benefit from soaking overnight in plenty of water. But first I always toss the garbanzos with a little baking soda, remembering to rinse the garbanzos in several changes of water in the morning. This enhances the desirable luscious texture of the garbanzos. I have never produced delectable garbanzos using the quick one-hour soak.

Recently I have started to cook garbanzos in salted water. It adds an hour’s cooking time, but they do taste better.

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Cook garbanzos in a covered pot, preferably earthenware. (Enameled cast iron is a good alternative.) Or cook them in much less water and without salt in a pressure cooker for about 35 minutes with equal success.

BASIC COOKED GARBANZOS

1 1/2 cups (about 1/2 pound) dried garbanzos, picked over

1/2 teaspoon baking soda, optional

Water

1 small onion, or 1 small veal marrow bone with some meat attached, or 1 small piece of cracked veal foot

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Gently toss garbanzos with baking soda in bowl and cover with 1 quart water. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours.

Rinse garbanzos thoroughly. Place in enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or earthenware bowl. Add onion and coarse salt. Cover with 2 quarts boiling water. Cover and set in 300-degree oven to simmer until tender, 2 to 3 hours.

Remove from oven and discard onion. Skim and discard fat if meaty bones were used. Garbanzos will keep, covered and refrigerated, for several days. Makes 3 3/4 cups, about 7 servings.

Each serving contains about:

160 calories; 263 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 1.82 grams fiber.

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Many tasters in The Times Test Kitchen found the leblebi delicious even without the garnish of tuna and pickled vegetables. Try it both ways. Slivered pickled turnips with beets can be found at Middle Eastern grocers.

TUNISIAN GARBANZO AND HARISSA SOUP (Leblebi)

3 3/4 cups Basic Cooked Garbanzos, with liquid

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Homemade Harissa

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons fresh strained lemon juice

3 to 4 cups cubed stale peasant-style bread

1 (6-ounce) can imported tuna packed in olive oil, drained and coarsely flaked

1/3 cup slivered pickled turnips with beets

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions or red onion

2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed and drained

4 lemon wedges

Table Harissa Sauce, optional

Drain Basic Cooked Garbanzos, reserving 1 quart cooking liquid.

Put olive oil in straight-sided 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add Homemade Harissa and garlic. Cook, stirring, until harissa begins to sizzle, 30 seconds. Add garbanzos and fry another 30 seconds. Cover with reserved cooking liquid. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook gently 5 minutes. Add cumin and lemon juice.

Divide stale bread cubes among 4 deep soup bowls. Ladle garbanzos and 1 cup cooking liquid into each bowl. Garnish each serving with tuna fish, turnips, green onions, capers and lemon wedge. Pass Table Harissa Sauce to make extra hot. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

418 calories; 1,081 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 2.24 grams fiber.

Note : To make Table Harissa Sauce for Leblebi, in bowl combine 3 tablespoons Homemade Harissa, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1/2 cup reserved garbanzo cooking liquor and mix well. Makes about 3/4 cup.

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In Tunisia, fiery hot red peppers play a role in almost every dish, usually in the form of the famous harissa sauce, a mixture of sun-dried peppers pounded with spices and garlic and packed into jars under a coating of oil. The Tunisian/French harissa sauce sold here in tubes bears little resemblance to a true homemade harissa paste. In fact, I find commercial harissa pretty dreadful. I used to use Indonesian sambal oelek as a sort of workhorse for most of my Tunisian cooking, adding ground coriander, caraway and garlic to give it the proper pungent, rounded taste. The mildly hot peppers used to make this sauce in Tunisia appear similar to New Mexican fresh chile peppers (California Anaheims) but are closer in flavor to the poblano or dried ancho. Now that dried ancho chiles are available, I make my own. I soak the peppers, then grind them with a little garlic, salt, spices and a roasted red pepper for an even richer texture.

Incidentally, in Tunisian home cooking, many soups, stews and sauces begin the same way: The cook stirs some tomato paste into a spoonful of hot oil; when the paste turns glossy and gives off a good aroma, some harissa, diluted with water, and stirred until smooth, is added to the pot, along with the vegetables, liquid, herbs and spices. This method not only tames the harissa but creates a creamier sauce.

Homemade Harissa Sauce

3 ounces dried chiles, preferably anchos, or mixture of New Mexican chiles, pasillas, guajillos or cascabels

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

3/4 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

1 medium sweet red pepper, roasted, stemmed, seeded, chopped, wrapped in cheesecloth and pressed until dry

Salt

Olive oil

Stem, seed and rinse dried chiles. Place in bowl and add boiling water to cover. Cover bowl and let chiles stand 30 minutes. Drain, wrap in cheesecloth and press out excess moisture.

Grind chiles in food processor with garlic, coriander and caraway seeds, sweet red pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt. If necessary, add small amount of olive oil to make smooth paste. Pack mixture into small clean jar, cover with thin layer of oil, close with lid and keep refrigerated. Will keep 2 to 3 weeks in refrigerator. Makes about 1/2 cup.

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The “white” oil typically used to make fatteh bi-zeit in Syria is actually an oil of second quality. In my adaptation below I use a better grade of olive oil. The dish makes a delightful simple snack. Near East or Aleppo red pepper is available at Middle Eastern grocers.

SYRIAN GARBANZOS WITH OLIVE OIL AND PITA (Fatteh Bi-Zeit)

2 cloves garlic

Salt

1/2 pound pitas, split

1 1/3 cups Basic Cooked Garbanzos, with 1 cup cooking liquid

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons cold water

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 dashes of Near East or Aleppo red pepper

6 to 8 green onions, thinly sliced

Peel and crush garlic with dash of salt. Set aside.

Toast pitas at 350 degrees until golden-brown. Remove and break into small pieces. Place in wide, shallow serving bowl.

Reheat Basic Cooked Garbanzos in saucepan with cooking liquid. Add crushed garlic. Quickly tilt saucepan and moisten pita pieces with garbanzo liquid, then toss bread well. Spread garlicky garbanzos on top.

Beat olive oil with cold water and drizzle over garbanzos. Sprinkle with cumin and Near East red pepper. Garnish with green onions. Serve at once. Makes 4 servings.

Note : Near East or Aleppo red pepper is available at Middle Eastern grocers.

Each serving contains about:

388 calories; 607 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams protein; 2.55 grams fiber.

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This dish, extremely popular in Barcelona, normally requires a fresh sausage that is a specialty of Catalonia. In the ingredient list I suggest some substitutes, but if you have a sausage-making machine you can make these sausages with ease. Grind 1/2 pound pork with 2 to 3 ounces of pork fat; moisten the meat with a few tablespoons of white wine, salt, pepper and dashes of cinnamon or nutmeg, powdered cloves and crumbled thyme. Then force the seasoned meat into a casing and hang the sausage in an airy place for 24 hours. The sausage is cooked in boiling water and eaten hot or cold.

GARBANZOS WITH TOMATOES, FRESH SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS (Garbanzos a la Catalana)

1 1/2 cups dried garbanzos, picked over

Water

Baking soda

Coarse salt

1/2 pound Catalonian sausage or fresh country-style pork sausage

1/3 pound slab bacon or lean salt pork

Oil or lard, optional

1 cup chopped onions

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 cup diced green pepper

4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

Grated nutmeg or cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

Pepper

Soak garbanzos in water overnight with dash baking soda in large bowl or pot.

Drain garbanzos, rinse well and cook in lightly salted simmering water, covered in large pot, 1 hour.

Simmer sausage in pot of water 20 minutes or brown in skillet. Drain off most of fat and cut sausage into 1-inch chunks. Set aside.

Simmer bacon in pot 10 minutes in water, drain, rinse well and dice.

In skillet brown bacon, onion, garlic and green pepper in 1 tablespoon sausage fat, or in 1 tablespoon oil or lard, over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add tomatoes, nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, covered, 10 minutes. Fold in sausage slices.

Drain garbanzos, reserving 2 cups cooking liquid. Put garbanzos in baking dish. Spoon in tomato-sausage mixture. Moisten with reserved garbanzo cooking liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover dish and bake at 375 degrees 1 1/2 hours, stirring from time to time. Serve in wide soup plates. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

457 calories; 494 mg sodium; 32 mg cholesterol; 28 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 2.84 grams fiber.

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I’ve eaten many marvelous dishes in Greece, including this Macedonian version of garbanzos, eggplants and tomatoes. When I first tried it, I liked it so much I asked my Greek food-writer friend Aglaia Kremezi to find the recipe. The secret, it turned out, is preparing the dish in an earthenware pot so that the correct amount of moisture is released during cooking. A dish as good as this need be accompanied only by dense, chewy bread.

MACEDONIAN CHICK PEAS, EGG PLANTS AND TOMATOES

1/2 pound dried garbanzos, picked over

Water

Baking soda

Coarse salt

1 (1-pound) eggplant

1/4 cup olive oil

2 chopped onions

1 Italian green frying pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small pieces

2 1/2 teaspoons chopped long green chile

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, peeled and crushed with dash of salt

2 cups canned tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 teaspoon Greek oregano

1 bay leaf

Soak garbanzos in water overnight with dash baking soda in large bowl or pot.

Drain garbanzos. Place in saucepan, add fresh water to cover and 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, bring to boil and simmer, covered, over low heat until half-done, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

While garbanzos are cooking, peel eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and let stand in colander about 45 minutes to draw off excess moisture. Set aside.

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet. Add onions, frying pepper and chile. Stir 3 minutes. Add eggplant and saute without browning 2 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes and juice, parsley, oregano and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.

In 4-quart bean pot, casserole or earthenware-lined electric cooker, mix garbanzos, 1 3/4 cup cooking liquid, bay leaf and contents of skillet. Cover pot with clay plate or parchment paper (fasten to pot with string). Bake at 300 degrees 2 1/2 to 6 hours, or all day in electric cooker. Remove cover, increase heat and bake 10 minutes more to evaporate excessive moisture. Garbanzos should be very tender and finished sauce should coat them thickly. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

280 calories; 794 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 38 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams protein; 2.96 grams fiber.

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I used to joke about writing a book in which I would follow the garbanzo around the Mediterranean, using this humble pulse as a prism through which to view culinary influences and history. Here’s a dish that shows what I mean. You will find old Spanish versions with cured ham as a flavoring, served with lentils in Syria, favored with cumin in Egypt, flavored with cinnamon in Turkey and garnished with chopped onion in Lebanon. This Tunisian version, made with tomato and chile pepper, is my favorite. It can be served as a light meal with a brined ripened cheese such as feta along with pickles, bread and salad.

GARBANZOS AND SWISS CHARD IN THE STYLE OF THE TUNISIAN SAHEL (Morshan)

3/4 pound Swiss chard leaves, stemmed, rinsed and torn into large pieces

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 small dried red chile

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced onion

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 cup Basic Cooked Garbanzos, with 3/4 cup cooking liquid

1 lemon, cut in wedges, optional

In pot steam, parboil or microwave chard leaves until tender, about 5 minutes. Set leaves in colander to drain. Squeeze out excess moisture and shred coarsely.

Crush garlic in mortar with salt, coriander and chile until thick, crumbly paste forms.

Heat olive oil in 10-inch skillet and saute onion until pale-golden. Add garlic paste and tomato paste and stir into oil until sizzling. Add chard, Basic Cooked Garbanzos and cooking liquid and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until ready to serve. (Contents of skillet should be very moist but not soupy. For looser texture, stir in more garbanzo cooking liquid.) Serve warm, at room temperature or cold with lemon wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Note : Broccoli rabe, dandelion leaves, mustard greens, kale or turnip tops may be substituted for Swiss chard. Discard any yellow or damaged leaves and cook like chard. Cooking time will vary.

Each serving contains about:

165 calories; 667 mg sodium; trace cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.74 grams fiber.

Wolfert is one of America’s leading experts on the cooking of the Middle East. She is the author of “The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean” (HarperCollins: 1994; $30) as well as the forthcoming “Mediterranean Cooking, Revised Edition” (HarperCollins: Fall, 1994). These recipes were taken from both books.

Food styling by Donna Deane and Mayi Brady