Crispy Chickpeas With Beef
Updated December 12, 2018
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ to 1 pound ground beef or other meat
4 cups cooked chickpeas (about 1 28-ounce can), drained (reserve 1 cup liquid)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 ancho or chipotle chile, soaked, stemmed, seeded and minced; or 1 teaspoon good chile powder
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Minced cilantro or parsley for garnish (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Turn heat to high under a large, deep skillet, and add meat a little at a time, breaking it into small pieces as you do. Stir and break up meat a bit more, then add chickpeas. Keep heat high, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until chickpeas begin to brown and pop, 5 to 10 minutes. Don't worry if mixture sticks a bit, but if it begins to scorch, lower heat slightly.
- Step 2
Add cumin, chili or chili powder and garlic. Cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add reserved cooking liquid, and stir, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits. Season with salt and pepper, then turn heat to medium-low. Continue to cook until mixture is no longer soupy but not dry.
- Step 3
Stir in olive oil, then taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish if you like, and serve immediately, with rice or pita bread.
Private Notes
Comments
suggestions from our family (my husband hails from the Levant): (1) fry onions along with the meat, (2) coriander is another good addition to the spice mix, (3) add lemon juice & chopped sun-dried tomatoes at the end to help with dryness, (4) serve with a side of arugula drizzled with lemon juice & salt
This is basically a quicker, simpler version of the Indian dish chole keema, which I make often. If you have it, I would use garam masala instead of the cumin in this recipe for a better depth of spice flavors. A heavy pinch of sugar is also a nice counterbalance to the spices.
How about Bulgar wheat? And please, no turkey(smells like singed feathers); use 1/2 lb ground lamb or beef w. your spices-cumin, turmeric, Aleppo pepper (Amazon) would go great for a little heat, real garlic, all in olive oil (margarine-I cringe). This is a mid-eastern style dish. Saute meat, then drain fat in colander to omit grease. Cilantro, absolutely. Lemon juice is also a plus. I've been making takes on this for years.
Nice easy recipe. 1 can garbanzos has only about ¾ cup of liquid so added enough to make a full cup. I would also do it on medium/high to avoid scorching and add some oil in the beginning instead of all at the end to help brown the meat and garbanzos. After reading that others found the seasonings bland I just used a package of Kinder’s (sorry, but it was easier) with a similar profile which worked out well.
Added onions, tomato sauce, turmeric, cardomon, and cayenne. Made with steak instead of ground beef. Was really delicious! Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
nothing special. kind of dry.

