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For obvious reasons, my favorite recipes are ones that involve just a few household ingredients and don't require that I turn on the oven or stove.I've been on the lookout for yummy dishes that take almost no time to make and yet still qualify as cooking. Here's what I came up with so far:
Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Parmesan courtesy of Orangette, who recommends that you use the best quality ingredients, especially a good brand of chickpeas (I used Sahadi's).
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. olive oil
A pinch of salt
¼ cup loosely packed shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir gently to mix. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately, or chill, covered, until serving.
I had no problem draining and rinsing the chickpeas and squeezing in some lemon juice. But then I realized I didn't have any Parmigiano Reggiano (is that the same as plain old Parmesan?) I sent Avo out to the overpriced corner market where he nabbed a $10 (!) slab of gourmet Parmesan/Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. By the time he returned, I had poured in the olive oil and added a pinch of salt.
I took a bite. Not bad, but the recipe said season as necessary, so I figured I'd add a bit more salt.
Oops. Apparently, I forgot to put the top back on the salt from earlier. The entire shaker full of salt emptied into my lovely chickpea salad.
Without thinking, I attempted a daring recovery.
I quickly grabbed a damp paper towel and mopped up the pillars of salt. Then I cupped some remaining piles of salt with my hands until the chickpeas were no longer buried under a snowy layer of salt.
I can't believe I messed up a five ingredient recipe that doesn't even involve cooking!
Avo just had a taste and didn't think it was over salted, so I guess on some level, I succeeded. One mark of a good chef is being able to salvage culinary disasters, right?
Clearly I could use some assistance here. Please post any basic recipes that don't involve turning on the oven.
