Tuscan Mashed Chickpeas

I love chickpeas but sometimes I get bored with hummus. This delicious recipe is from Ina Garten's newest cookbook, Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust. It's very easy and delicious. It has a bit more texture than hummus and cooking the chickpeas briefly makes them meld together with the other ingredients really nicely.


2 (15.5 ounces) cans chickpeas
1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want to make it vegetarian)
3 T olive oil, plus extra for serving
2 ripe medium size tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (preferably freshly grated)
3 T minced flat-leaf parsley
2 T lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
Grilled country bread for serving

1. Pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain well. Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the chicken stock and pulse until chickpeas are coarsely chopped but not pureed.

2. In a medium-sized saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chickpeas, stirring to combine with the tomatoes and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

3. Take off the heat and stir in the parmesan, parsley, lemon juice and 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pile in a serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and serve warm or at room temperature with shards of grilled country bread.

NOTE: The flavors definitely develop if you make it in advance!