The chickpea cups with smoked salmon cream are very visually appealing, delicious, and refined; a chic option to prepare for all special occasions and festive days. More than a finger food appetizer, the cups, due to their mini size, are perfect for entertaining guests while waiting for lunch or the main courses. They are very easy, gluten-free, customizable according to your tastes and needs, and can also be prepared in advance. The perfect combination of legumes and shellfish, mollusks, and fish in general, gives us the possibility to create always different and exquisite dishes.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups pre-cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (also lactose-free)
- 5 oz smoked salmon
- to taste ground white pepper
- 10 stems chives
- 2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Immersion Blender
Steps
I usually prefer to use soaked and cooked chickpeas, but we can also use canned ones, after rinsing them under running water to remove any trace of preservation liquid.
I cook the chickpeas this way: after soaking them for 12 hours, I discard the water and transfer them to a large pot filled with clean, cold tap water. I add a carrot, a celery stalk, half an onion, and a bay leaf.
Bring the chickpeas to a boil, then lower the heat and let them cook until done. Only at the end of cooking do I add fine salt.
When the chickpeas are cold, we can assemble our cups. In a blender, put the Greek yogurt (prefer it over traditional yogurt for this preparation because it is too liquid), the smoked salmon, chopped chives, a pinch of ground pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Blend the ingredients until you get a thick, spreadable cream that we can use immediately or store in the fridge to further flavor (we can prepare all the cup ingredients even a day in advance, however, taking care to keep them in a well-sealed container in the fridge). Taste and adjust with salt only if necessary.
Assemble the cups. At the bottom of each cup, place a handful of chickpeas (about 0.7 oz per serving), add enough salmon cream to fill the cup; finally, decorate with some chive stems.
