Sautéed Chickpeas

Now that I am cooking all of my own food, I notice that I eat substantially less meat than I used to. In college, I had a chef that prepared a whole buffet of food for lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday. Even though our chef Anthony always had a vegetarian option, I always found myself reaching for the beef, salmon, or chicken instead of the tofu. 

Nowadays, I mostly eat vegetarian lunches and dinners Monday through Friday. It is so much lazier easier, cheaper, and healthier! Vegetarian proteins, like legumes or quinoa, can be prepared early in the week, keep relatively well, and are easy to throw into salads, soups, or stir-fries. 

This recipe for sautéed chickpeas is quite popular at my house. One of my roommates, Maya, probably makes it once a week for all of us. It comes together quickly, but has complex flavor thanks to the dried herbs and vinegar. Maya like to eat these chickpeas with canned tuna on top, but I just prefer the chickpeas by themselves.

Sautéed chickpeas are my new go-to food when I come home at 7:30 from work, and all I want to do is eat, curl up in bed, and finish reading The Goldfinch. You probably have all these ingredients on hand, so why not try subbing this in for your boring chicken breast and rice dinner?

Sautéed Chickpeas

1 tablespoon butter (use olive oil to make this recipe vegan!)

1/2 chopped red onion

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

1 can chickpeas

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

Fresh black pepper and salt to taste

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.

Add in the onion, and stir for 3-4 minutes until softened.

Pour in the balsamic vinegar, and cook over medium heat until the vinegar begins to evaporate.

Add in the chickpeas, herbs, and salt/pepper. Stir until chickpeas are hot.

Serve with rice.