Harvest Monday, February 3, 2014 – Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Sprouts + A Paleo Diet Question

Left, dry chick peas; right, soaked chick peas (after 8 hours)

This is the time of year when I turn my attention to my kitchen garden, namely, growing sprouts.

Which brings me to a paleo diet question.

From what I understand, legumes are not allowed in the paleo diet, however during sprouting the legume seeds germinate and become living plants which are now vegetables (think mung beans sprouts in the produce section of the food market), so are sprouts allowed? If yes, do the recipes below meet the paleo diet guidelines?

I hope readers who are following the paleo diet will weigh in and start a discussion.

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This past week I was growing chickpeas (garbanzo beans) sprouts, experimenting and trying to find new ways to enjoy these delicious and good for you sprouts that are also pesticide free.

In order to have sufficient sprouts to play with, I started out with 3 cups about 1½ pounds (that’s the max my colander can accommodate) of dried chickpeas (I buy my chickpeas from the health food store). Click here to learn about Growing Chickpeas Sprouts.

After 2 days, I had 3+ pounds of chickpeas sprouts (this is the stage I like them)

Steamed the chickpeas sprouts for 10 minutes (personally I do not eat uncooked sprouts)

Froze the extra

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Needed a simple and easy chickpeas sprouts snack, so tossed:
• 1 cup of chickpeas sprouts with 2 tablespoons of tamari and 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.
• Let stand 30 minutes.
• Drained and spread single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan.
• Baked at 325°F for 25 minutes.

The chickpeas sprouts at this point had a nice moist chewy texture which I liked very much, however because they were not very dry, I worry they will not keep well at room temperature for any length of time and decided to bake another 10 minutes. Mistake. They became quite hard. Not wanting to crack or worst yet break a tooth, decided to toss them out.

Overly baked (dried) chickpeas sprouts

Just as I was about to toss out the above, my inquiring mind wanted to know: what if I rehydrate them?

Having nothing to lose but certainly something to gain decided to place the dried sprouts in a pot, covered with water, brought to a boil and simmered for about 5 minutes. This softened the sprouts. They were delicious and made a tasty snack.

Rehydrated dried chickpeas sprouts

Thinking: Why not make a meal with them? Had some broccoli florets in the fridge and a leek in storage in the garage (see NOTE). Combined and made a Chickpeas Sprouts, Leek and Broccoli stir-fry. This was a very satisfying vegetarian meal.

Chickpeas Sprouts, Leek & Broccoli Stir-fry

Here is an adapted version of the above stir-fry

Chickpeas Sprouts, Leek & Broccoli stir-fry

Ingredients
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas sprouts
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 – 2 teaspoons maple syrup or to taste
Combine the above and let stand for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge
• ½ pound broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces (or other veggies of choice)
• 1 leek (or 2 – 3 scallions or 1 small onion or 2 – 3 garlic greens) sliced
• 1 – 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
• ½ – ¾ cup broth
• 1½ – 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch, tapioca starch or corn starch combined with 1 tablespoons water or broth. Stir well before adding to wok/frying pan.

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan, add leeks and garlic, stir-fry 1 minute.
2. Add salt and broccoli stir-fry until broccoli turn bright green, about 2 minutes.
3. Add chick peas sprouts and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until broccoli reaches desired doneness, about 3 minutes.
4. Thicken with tapioca/cornstarch mixture. Adjust taste and serve.

P.S. Had some fresh mushrooms in the fridge and tossed them in as well. Sorry no photo, messed up.

NOTE: To overwinter the leeks, I stood the harvested leeks, unwashed, in a bucket, surrounded with pro-mix (sand will work also) part way up the green part. Store in the unheated garage. The exposed green tops wilted but the white parts and buried green pasts were in perfect condition (sorry, forgot to take a photo and this was the last leek), another successful experiment. Will repeat this storage system again this fall.

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Starting to make too many silly mistakes. Learning from my recent published date error and deleted photos incident, decided to stop and turn off the computer while I am still ahead. Please visit tomorrow for the rest of the story post.

Coming tomorrow
Kale & Chickpeas Sprouts Soup
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