And the cook time is ten minutes. Maybe less. So, as you may have guessed, dried chickpeas weren’t used here. A ten-minute cooking time wouldn’t be enough to cook dried chickpeas. More like ten hours.
Canned chickpeas, on the other hand, are fully cooked. All you have to do is cook them shortly with flavors they can soak up. In this case, those would be salt, pepper, the natural sweetness of bell pepper, the earthiness of green beans and the acidity of tomatoes. And you pile on more flavors once the vegetables are in the bowl.
But canned chickpeas? In a food blog? If you’re having a que horror! moment, let me just say that I’ve never been a fan of canned food — especially canned vegetables — but the pandemic gave me a new perspective. I’ve stopped being such a snob since. We do keep a few cans of vegetables in the pantry now.
Now, about the crumbled feta… Feta is a cheese. More about it in the linked post below.
Is apetina the same as feta cheese?
Both are made with a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. Essentially, that makes Apetina the same sa feta. Legally, however, cheese labeled “feta” has to originate in certain regions of Greece.
If you’ve read the apetina versus feta post, then, you’ll know the answer to the question that can be anticipated at this point. Is feta a must in this recipe? I’d say no. Any crumbly cheese should be good. But know that the saltiness of cheeses vary. So do their aroma and flavor. Whatever cheese you use, feta or otherwise, will affect the final taste of the dish.
Sauteed chickpeas, green beans and tomatoes with crumbled feta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup canned chickpeas rinsed and well drained
- 6 green beans stringed and cut into 1/2-inch lengths
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- ⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- crumbled feta as much as you like
- 2 tablespoons chopped cashew nuts toasted in an oil-free pan
- ½ lemon
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 to 4 sweet basil leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan.
- Cook the chickpeas in the hot oil until the surface is starting to brown.
- Add the green beans. Cook, stirring often, for a minute.
- Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, for half a minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Tip: if using a lot of feta, use salt sparingly. Stir once more and cook for another half a minute.
- Tilt the contents of the frying pan into a salad bowl.
- Spread the crumbled feta over the vegetables.
- Sprinkle in the toasted cashew nuts.
- Squeeze the lemon directly over everything making sure that no seeds fall into the bowl.
- Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil.
- Garnish with basil.
- Serve immediately.
