Golden Chickpeas With Cilantro, Garlic, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Photo: Leek Soup

Ingredients

3/4 pound a chickpeas

2 ounces sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil)

have a stick of butter

4 cloves of garlic, minced

Small handful of crumbled goat cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh Cilantro

Preparation

You could use canned chickpeas, but I prefer dried beans that I’ve soaked myself.

Soak chickpeas overnight. Be sure to add plenty of water to the bowl as the beans soak up more than you would expect.

Drain and rinse chickpeas

Place beans in a pot and add enough water to cover plus about 3 inches or so.

Simmer over medium to medium low heat for a couple of hours. They’ll cook in less time, but I like to cook my beans long and slow.

While the beans are cooking, place sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) in a bowl and add boiling hot water.

Let soak for about 10 minutes

Drain and slice or chop tomatoes to your liking

Drain the cooked beans

Heat a few tablespoons or so of butter over medium heat in your largest skillet

Place beans in hot skillet in a single layer (you can do this in batches)

Stir to coat and let cook for about 4 minutes

Give it a good stir, or use a spatula to flip the beans, and let cook for another 4 minutes. At this point I add another chunk or so of butter. Not necessary, but darn tasty.

Towards the end of the 4 minutes, add garlic, salt, pepper and tomatoes and give it another quick sauté.

Place in platter or bowl and finish with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and fresh goat cheese. I used Capricho de Cabra for this batch. Capricho is one of my favorite Spanish goat cheeses. Clean, crisp and tangy, this cheese tastes like it’s been washed in fresh spring water. Yum.

Serve chickpeas with whatever sounds good to you. I’m thinking lightly fried sardines and a Vinho Verde.