"chickpeas" news and stories

• Health nuts are nuts for healthy nuts.
• But chickpeas -- the fresh, green kind -- are no slouch, either.
• Northern California is awash in fresh lettuce. Lettuce soup, anyone?
• When life hands you lemons, preserve them.
• ...Or reach for a glass of wine and a burger.

When you see something as delicious looking as this, becoming vegetarian not only seems perfectly feasible, but desirable.

All it takes to transform a humble can of chickpeas into this elegant dish is garlic, shallot, bay leaf and olive oil (oh, and some time in a 400-degree oven). The cook responsible for the above masterpiece also has a thing for Swiss chard, and thus stirs some in on occasion for a completely satisfying side dish.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Michael Symon is back -- with latkes!

What do you get when you serve food with a side of politics? The Obamas, of course.

As the holidays come ever closer to crashing head-on, take a break with a Sunday meal of Whole-Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole.

You'll need a Euphoria cocktail after a holiday-shopping marathon.

Aunt Mary, please don't give us paper-weight fruit cake this year; instead, consider Parmesan Black-Pepper Biscotti.

"Top Chef Las Vegas" finalist Kevin Gillespie is among those joining the food fight for a slot on the 2011 Bocuse d'Or U.S. team.

You're running out of time to prepare a Hanukkah menu.

• Don't mourn the loss of the summer produce bounty. A guide to the dark leafy greens of fall -- like spinach, collards, Brussels sprouts, rainbow chard and savoy cabbage -- proves autumn has a cornucopia of seasonal vegetables.
• Cookbook author Paula Wolfert reveals her sacred kitchen object, claiming she "never met a pot of clay she didn't like."
• The common chickpea is spiced up with cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne.
• Got a hungry man in your life? Lucinda Scala Quinn, author of "Mad Hungry, Feeding Men & Boys" offers ten tips for feeding men (and boys), like "don't ask if they're hungry" and "train them to fend for themselves." After the tips, she cooks up five guy-approved recipes, like "Flat Roast Chicken" and "Steak Pizzaiola."
• Warm up with hearty stews as the weather cools down. Tomatillos, small green tomatoes popular in Mexican cooking, shine in a "lean, mean slow-cooker recipe" with beef eye of round and pinto beans.

Photo: No Recipes.

Hummus is one of those delicious foods that just aren't so pretty. A monochromatic beige dip made of chickpeas and tahini, it's often served straight from a plastic tub, its edible vessel a similarly hued slice of pita bread.

But such is not the case for Marc from No Recipes. Inspired by what we can only imagine was a very delicious and colorful trip through Tel Aviv, Marc decided he was going to make hummus that was not only full of flavor -- it was going to be beautiful too.

His homemade hummus, shown here, is drizzled with golden olive oil (which he allowed to collect inside the dip's swirls) and garnished with glaringly green parsley and a dash of paprika.

As if this hummus could be any more appealing, he eventually topped it off with caramelized onions.

[Via No Recipes]