BBQ Chickpea-Quinoa Bowls

When someone declares that cookie recipes are her pride and joy, I’m going to pay attention. I didn’t realize the food blog Two Peas and Their Pod has 200 recipes for cookies on it. But, I did know the blog author Maria Lichty also has a new cookbook, and I received a review copy. Of course, there is a chapter just for cookies. There’s a lot of other great food too, and I got distracted with the mix of vegetarian and omnivore dishes on my way to the cookies. The book and the blog are about a couple that loves to cook for their little boys, extended family, neighbors, and friends. The recipes they share are tested, family favorites. And, they really do love cooking and bringing people together around good food. Right away, I found some of my favorite flavors in the book. The Sweet Potato and Kale Hash, Raspberry-Lemon Scones, and Green “Hulk” Smoothies stood out in the Breakfast chapter. The hearty soups like Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chowder and Mushroom-Farro Soup had me looking forward to cooler days. I’m marking the page for the Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette for a Thanksgiving menu contender, and I can’t wait to try the Sweet and Spicy Tofu with Zucchini Noodles right away. Now, about that cookie chapter: there are Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mega Monster Cookies, Lemon-Almond Cookies with Lemon Glaze and more. The one that called out to me, though, was the Toasted Coconut White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies. I’ve never added coconut to white chocolate-macadamia cookies or thought to toast it first. That’s a must-try. Before I could pre-heat the oven for those, I first set about making the BBQ Chickpea-Quinoa Bowls. 

I had local corn and tomatoes from my CSA, and the timing was right for this dish. To begin, the canned chickpeas were rinsed and drained before being mixed with olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The seasoned chickpeas were baked for about 30 minutes until crispy. After roasting, they were tossed with some barbecue sauce. Meanwhile, I charred the corn a bit on a grill pan and chopped the tomatoes, cabbage, avocado, and lettuce. The dressing for the bowls was a spicy ranch that I took in a vegan direction by using cashew yogurt. The yogurt was mixed with lemon juice, minced jalapeno, minced garlic, chopped garlic chives, and salt and pepper. Cooked quinoa was placed in bowls and topped with the fresh vegetables, the barbecued chickpeas, and drizzled with the dressing. 

I love crispy, roasted chickpeas almost as much as I love popcorn, and the addition of barbecue sauce was a delicious idea. The flavors were a great match for the corn, tomatoes, and avocado. This could become a weekly lunch meal for me. But, now I’m thinking I haven’t been baking enough cookies lately.

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Smoky Chile and Coffee Barbecue Sauce

The kind of food that we eat at home with our families is what Ad Hoc at Home is all about. The book is dedicated to comfort food from American family traditions and other cultures as well, and it serves as a reminder to sit down and enjoy time spent around the dinner table. That being said, the book is also about cooking with a certain level of precision and paying close attention to technique for the best possible results. This is a Thomas Keller book after all. His secret equation is great product plus great execution equals great cooking, and he provides the tips to achieve it. The recipes here are far simpler than what you’ll find in the French Laundry Cookbook, but there’s still a lot of care taken and some intentional fussiness here and there. I was immediately inspired to put together the kind of family meal that this book encourages. On page two, Keller describes a meal he prepared for his father which included barbecued chicken. Believe it or not, in the recipe it states, “try to find a sauce with some integrity, preferably from a small producer.” Yes, that was a suggestion to use a purchased barbecue sauce. I couldn’t do it. For a Thomas Keller meal, I had to make my own sauce. I’ll describe the side dishes, which were from the book, in another post, but what I’m showing today is the sauce I made for the grilled chicken. I had saved this recipe from the June 2009 issue of Living magazine. In that issue, there was a classic barbeque sauce recipe followed by three variations. I chose to use the smoky chile and coffee option. I hope Keller would approve.

To start, the classic sauce recipe was prepared which involved sauteing chopped onions and garlic. Salt, pepper, ancho chile powder, ground coriander, cumin, molasses, and brown sugar were added next. After that simmered for a bit, canned crushed tomatoes and cider vinegar were added, and that mixture was left to slowly simmer for about three hours. It’s a long simmer time, but it doesn’t require much attention other than an occasional stir. During the last half an hour, I placed chopped, seeded dried chiles in a bowl with hot espresso to rehydrate them. When the sauce was nicely thickened, half of it was pureed with the chiles and espresso. I left the other half as it was and placed it in the freezer. That way, I can try one of the other variations at a later date, and peach and bourbon, I’m looking at you. As Keller advised in the book, I bought a whole chicken and cut it into pieces and that seems to get easier every time I do it. The chicken was seasoned and left in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then, the legs and thighs were placed on the grill first followed by the breasts and wings a few minutes later. When all of the pieces were cooked through, the sauce was added and it cooked another couple of minutes.

We did a quick taste test of the classic sauce versus the smoky chile and coffee sauce. The classic was sweet and flavorful, and it was a perfectly good barbecue sauce. The smoky chile and coffee, however, had layers of earthy flavor that balanced the sweetness, and there was a little spicy heat for good measure. It was a thick, clinging kind of sauce which was great for chicken. The barbecued chicken and vegetable side dishes made up the kind of meal that makes you slow down for a bit. We enjoyed some simple but memorable food, and we’ll be doing more of that as I continue to use the book.

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