Chickpea balls with garden herbs. Yesterday I had a bountiful harvest of leafy greens: borage and chard, I also added the first lamb’s quarters, costmary and dandelion, finally the green part of radishes.
A flavorful and fragrant mix. Some destined for consumption in the coming months, with the rest I made some veggie balls. The morning idea was towards farinata with vegetables, then I also added the balls.
So I prepared two batters, one with a liquid consistency for the farinata and the other thicker for the balls. Also a good solution for the lunch I take out every day, since the school cafeteria doesn’t serve very good food, but that’s a topic I’ll address in a separate article.
The chickpea balls are delicious, with the addition of vegetables, they are even softer. Both canned chickpeas and chickpea flour can be used, and I believe it’s a great solution. Of course, if you have cooked chickpeas from other preparations, the solution is even tastier.
I often cook chickpeas and every time I think of when they had to be harvested and cleaned from the shell residues, first beaten and then winnowed. For years I continued to cultivate them; unfortunately, now I don’t have the space and have to buy them.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 15
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpea flour (Or 2 cans of 14 oz each)
- 1 cup water
- 2 bunches wild herbs (Both wild herbs and green leafy vegetables can be used.)
- 1 egg
- as needed breadcrumbs
- as needed salt
- 1 clove garlic
- as needed olive oil
- as needed black pepper
Tools
- Pans
- Bowls
- Paper Towels
- Scales
Steps
In the morning, put the chickpea flour with the water and salt in the bowl. Leave until use. Six hours is indicated; if eight pass, nothing happens. Take your batter and add the egg, pepper, and breadcrumbs, just one tablespoon, mix.
After boiling the vegetables, pass them in a pan with the garlic and blend or chop with a knife; add to the chickpea mixture and mix well. If you find it too moist, adjust with breadcrumbs.
Cook by spoonfuls in olive oil. Use kitchen paper to dry excess oil.
Your balls are ready, just to be enjoyed. Excellent accompanied with a green sauce.
In the meantime, since the day was dedicated to chickpeas, I also made Ligurian farinata!
Some More Tips
They also keep well outside the fridge, great also with other vegetables: eggplants or bell peppers first and foremost! Very tasty with mint and basil as well. An air fryer can also be used, but they remain a bit drier, I prefer the pan.
