Quick Smashed Spanish Chickpeas

I love this recipe because it quickly turns a can of chickpeas into something special. I usually make this for lunch or dinner along with some quinoa, salad and cultured radishes, but you could also use it as a bean dip on a Friday night with a glass of wine. I haven’t done that yet but now that I’m thinking about it, I’m excited to try :)

This takes about 10 minutes to make so it’s definitely busy weekday friendly. It can easily be scaled up to use more than one can of chickpeas for a larger group.

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Quick Smashed Spanish Chickpeas
Adapted from the Smashed Chickpeas recipe (pg 51) in Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes.

Note: I start with an unsalted can of chickpeas in this recipe. If you’re working with a can that already contains it, I would hold off on adding the salt and then salt to taste at the end.

Olive oil (Spanish if you have it, NO worries if you don’t)
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
14.5 oz can chickpeas with the liquid
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

Pour a glug of olive into a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic. Let it sizzle for a couple minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until the garlic is fragrant and just barely starting to brown around the edges.

Pour in the chickpeas and their liquid and bring to a simmer. Let cook for a couple minutes then remove the pan from heat.

With a potato masher (or something along those lines) coarsely mash the chickpeas, then add the sea salt, oregano, smoked paprika and vinegar. Stir well.

Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of smoked paprika for presentation, and people will probably think you labored over this for much longer than you actually did :)

Serves 2

Lunchbox Guacamole

This is a 2-minute guacamole for those times when you want to balance a fun snack (chips) with something healthy (avocado). While I can happily chop and mince my way through traditional guacamole on Friday or Saturday night, that’s not realistic after school when my kids need to eat right this second (which is literally what Hammie says). This recipe is made for those times. It can also be made in the morning for a school (or office!) lunchbox. This recipe can easily be scaled up.

Avocados, as you likely know, are incredibly healthy. They are full of heart-healthy fats, and they are high in fiber, vitamin K, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin E and vitamin C. They are great for supporting children’s growth and development. In the timeless words of Michael Scott, win win win :)

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Lunchbox Guacamole

1/4 large ripe avocado
Sea salt
Garlic granules
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

With a fork, lightly mash the avocado on a small plate (I leave quite a few chunks in it). Season with sea salt and add a good pinch of garlic granules. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the whole thing and lightly mix it all together. Play with the proportions. I like to go a little heavier on the garlic granules and lighter on the lemon.

Serve or put into a lunchbox container.

Serves 1

Mustard Vinaigrette

This recipe makes mustard vinaigrette for the week, because I figure that if you’re going to take the time to paste a garlic clove, you may as well paste three and make a jar full. Also, the likelihood of eating greens significantly increases if you know that a healthy and delicious dressing is waiting for you in the fridge and all that’s required is to chop up a few leaves.

I like to make my own vinaigrette because I can use high quality olive oil (many packaged brands, even the healthy ones, contain inflammatory oils), there’s no zanthan gum or other stabilizers, and I reduce packaging.

Many mustard vinaigrettes use sherry vinegar (which is tasty) but I prefer raw apple cider vinegar to amp up the health benefits. Apple cider vinegar is said to improve metabolism and help lower blood pressure. And it tastes just as good. I put this dressing into a clean 16oz glass jar (from peanut butter or tahini or the like) and store it in the fridge. The olive oil will solidify, but just put the jar someplace warm - or into a bowl of hot water - and it will quickly come back to liquid form. Give the jar a good shake and you’re set to go.

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Mustard Vinaigrette
Adapted from the mustard vinaigrette recipe (pg 41) of Cook This Now by Melissa Clark

Note: If you don’t have kosher salt, use a bit less fine grain sea salt and go by taste. Add the large pinch into the garlic cloves, then add a rounded teaspoon or so into the dressing, shake, taste and adjust if necessary. Fine grain sea salt is a bit saltier than larger grain salt.

3 medium garlic cloves + large pinch of kosher (larger grain) sea salt
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon kosher (larger grain) sea salt
1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil

Peel and thinly slice your garlic cloves, then paste them with a pinch of kosher sea salt using a mortar and pestle. Put the pasted garlic into a clean jar, along with the Dijon mustard, raw apple cider vinegar, remaining kosher salt and olive oil. Screw the lid on tight and give it a really good shake to incorporate all the ingredients. Use some right away, or put in the fridge for later. This dressing will easily keep for the week.