Pasta de Grão, Portuguese Chickpea and Cilantro Spread
Portuguese cooking reaches for cilantro, coentros, where much of Europe would reach for parsley, and it is the herb that defines this simple spread of blended chickpeas. The usual approach floats it in olive oil; here the chickpeas do the enriching themselves, blended hot and loose with their own cooking liquid until they turn silky. Garlic is poached for a minute first so it goes sweet instead of sharp, toasted cumin gives it warmth, and white wine vinegar and lemon carry the flavor in place of salt. It keeps for several days in the fridge and only improves as the garlic mellows further, which makes it a good thing to blend on a Sunday and spread through the week.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Chickpeas, cooked, liquid reserved
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 cup Cilantro, leaves and tender stems, packed
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1 Lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Warm the whole garlic cloves in a small pan with 3 tbsp (45 ml) water over low heat for 5 minutes until they soften and lose their raw bite. Blending raw garlic straight in would turn the spread harsh and hot, so this quick poach mellows it into something sweet and round.
- Toast the cumin seed in a dry pan until it smells nutty and darkens a shade, about a minute, then grind it. Toasting whole seed and grinding it fresh gives several times the aroma of pre-ground cumin, which matters in a spread carrying no salt to lean on.
- Put the chickpeas, softened garlic, cumin, cilantro, parsley, vinegar, and lemon zest and juice in a food processor. Blend, adding the reserved chickpea liquid a spoon at a time, until it turns silky and spreadable. The starchy bean liquid is what makes it creamy with no oil or tahini poured in.
- Taste and grind in the black pepper. Cilantro, coentros, is the herb that makes this taste Portuguese rather than generic, so add more if you want it greener, and another squeeze of lemon to brighten it instead of salt.
- Scrape into a bowl and let it sit 15 minutes before serving so the garlic and cumin settle into the chickpeas. Spread it thick on toasted whole-grain bread or serve with raw vegetables and wedges of lemon.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 150 calories, 7 g protein, 6 g fiber, 20 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
