Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Recipe with Ground Beef and Cilantro

A delicious and quick dinner from Mark Bittman with ground beef, chickpeas, and cilantro.

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this simple recipe of sauteed chickpeas with a little bit of ground beef and lots of cilantro is something I'd love for dinner any time of year.)

I guess all food bloggers have their own little kitchen personality quirks. One of mine is a habit of getting fixated on certain ingredients and then using them over and over until I discover something new to get smitten with. Right now, I'm definitely in my garbanzo bean phase, and happily I'm discovering there are a plenty of other people who are also garbanzo bean fans.

As soon as I saw this recipe in Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times, I wanted to try it. Bittman's recipe called for only 1/2 pound of meat, but the first time I made it I had a one pound package of ground beef thawed out and used it all. It did get eaten, but that experiment made me realize that this recipe is really all about the chickpeas, with the meat being just kind of a flavoring, and who was I to be second-guessing Mark Bittman anyway? So trust me (and Mark) on this one and just use the tiniest amount of meat in this dish. If you're a garbanzo bean fan like I am, this may become a regular feature on your dinner rotation.

Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas with Beef and Cilantro
(Makes 4 main dish servings, recipe slightly adapted from Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times.)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. low fat ground beef (or Bittman says use other meat)
1 tsp. plus 1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Spike Seasoning (0ptional, or use your favorite seasoning for ground beef)
2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drain and save liquid (or use 4 cups cooked chickpeas and save 2 cups cooking water)
chicken stock to add to chickpea liquid if needed to make 2 cups
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder, more or less to taste (I get chipotle chile powder from Penzeys, or use a diced chipotle chile from a can or other hot sauce)
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions:

Drain chickpeas into a colander, saving liquid. Add chicken stock to chickpea liquid to make 2 cups, set aside. (I like to rinse canned chickpeas until no more foam appears because I think it removes some of the undigestable starches, so I rinsed mine after I drained them.)

Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a large deep frying pan over high heat, then add ground beef, crumbling into pieces as you put it into the pan, and seasoning with Spike Seasoning if desired. Use a metal turner to stir and break up the meat while you start to brown it, about 3 minutes. When meat is fairly broken up, add chickpeas. Keeping heat high, saute meat and chickpeas together until meat is well browned and chickpeas are quite brown and starting to pop, about 10 minutes. (If the mixture starts to stick turn down the heat a tiny bit.)

Add ground cumin, ground chipotle chile powder, and minced garlic and cook a minute more. Add reserved cooking liquid (with added stock if needed to make 2 cups). Scrape the bottom of the pan with turner to loosen any browned bits, season with salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.

Turn off heat, stir in chopped cilantro and 1 T olive oil. Taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper, then serve hot.

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South Beach Suggestions:

With heart-healthy olive oil and chickpeas (which are considered a "good carb") this would be a great dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet. Serve with a tomato-cucumber salad for phase one. For phase two you could add whole wheat pita bread or something like lemony rice.

Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. 

More Tasty Chickpea Love:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Catalan Chickpeas with Tomatoes And Almonds ~ The Traveler's Lunchbox
Garbanzo, Tomato, And Cilantro Salad with Lime and Chile Dressing ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Chickpea Hot Pot from 101 Cookbooks
Garbanzo Salad with Olives and Herbs ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Tamarind Chickpea Curry ~ Treat a Week Recipes
(I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)

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