The C h I c k p e a <br />Under pressure <br /> <br />I am a big lover of legumes and the chickpea was my first. This long-time love of Chickpea (AKA Garbanzo), was elevated when breaking, quite literally, out of the can. I used to be completely satisfied eating and cooking with canned beans. They are convenient, tasty and usually tender. <br /> <br />Older, wiser and armed with a pressure cooker, I am now convinced that a homemade batch of beans is both convenient and a staple to many a great meal. I have my Sister-In-Law, Irma, to thank for the epiphany regarding the cooking of dried beans. She uses a pressure cooker, which I had always been fearful of but since converting to, have never looked back. <br /> <br />The beautiful thing about this recipe is that it is many things in one. It is chickpea soup if you ladle it into a bowl with the liquid, it is a side dish if you scoop it out of it's liquid with a slotted spoon and it is an ingredient if you are making one of many different things such as hummus, salads, baked goods or soups. <br /> <br />You will need a pressure cooker for this. If you don't have one but are intrigued with this idea, less than $100 is worth investing, if nothing else, in cooking beans. There is no need to soak overnight and the cooking time is cut in half. There are many other uses though so it really is money well spent. <br />

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