Make Ahead

Moroccan Chickpea Pockets

March  7, 2013
5
1 Ratings
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

About a year and half ago, I went mostly vegetarian. At home I rarely have meat or fish, with the exception of bacon—the ultimate perfect ingredient for beans and soups; and when I eat out, I generally eat fish. As a friend pointed out some time ago, I'm a wimpy vegetarian, and it's a balance that seems to be working pretty well for me. I keep a stash of cooked legumes and grains in both the fridge and the freezer, and am always experimenting with them. One thing I've found it that these dishes are not only tasty, but can also be really inexpensive to make. This is one of my most recent dishes I've fallen in love with that incorporates the flavors of Morocco. Not that I've actually BEEN there, but how I imagine it. The spice mix is a key ingredient to the dish, and is a nice one to keep around for sprinkling on other things too. —TheWimpyVegetarian

Test Kitchen Notes

This was great. I liked it a lot. Just needed to specify small pockets—it doesn't seem enough to fill four big ones. The spice level was quite nice and the timings worked nicely. —Stephanie Bourgeois

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 large orange, juiced
  • 1 tablespoon dried currants
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes (this time of year I use canned Italian tomatoes)
  • 1 handful cilantro (around 1/3 cup)
  • 4 whole wheat pita pockets
Directions
  1. I keep a stash of freshly cooked chickpeas in the refrigerator and freezer as I prefer the flavor of freshly cooked to the ones that are canned. To cook garbanzo beans (chickpeas), I rinse the beans, and soak them overnight in enough water to cover them by two inches. The following morning, I drain them, recover them with vegetable broth, and simmer for about one hour to an hour and a half. They can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days or frozen for a few months.
  2. Combine the salt, paprika, coriander, cayenne, ginger, and cinnamon in a bowl for the spice mix. Set aside.
  3. Warm up the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the chickpeas, minced garlic, and 2 teaspoons of the spice mix. Sauté for 5 minutes until the garlic is very fragrant, but not browning.
  4. Add the orange juice and currants, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce thickens.
  6. Stir in the cilantro. Warm the pita bread in the microwave for 1 minute.
  7. Spoon the chickpea mixture into the pockets of the pita bread and serve with a side salad for a great, healthy meal.
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4 Reviews

AntoniaJames March 8, 2013
Gorgeous photo and a great recipe, too. My sons -- both in college, cooking for themselves -- will love this. It didn't take long for them to figure out (a) the value of eating in, and (a directly related point) (b) how eating legumes at lunch and dinner leaves more money for fun with friends. I'm forwarding this recipe to them right now! ;o)
TheWimpyVegetarian March 8, 2013
LOL! Thanks so much AJ - I hope they give it a go.
creamtea March 8, 2013
oh, yum. I love these flavors. I'm with you on chickpeas--I recently started cooking them from the dry state rather than using canned, --hey are better and don't take all that long (though I'll sometimes use canned in a pinch).
TheWimpyVegetarian March 8, 2013
I keep canned around too - just in case I run out of my stash :-)