Chickpeas

Life is a bottomless pasta bowl for fans of Philadelphia's Italian BYOBs. Hardly a week goes by without yet another new trattoria turning on the lights and firing up an espresso machine. I expected the pace to slacken a couple of years ago. But it hasn't, even if some of the more mundane efforts prove unequivocally that there is such a thing as too much fried calamari and penne pomodoro. There have been a few notable stars, though, cooking from the heart of the trend. And chef Davide and Kathryn Faenza have rightfully won a strong following for their unique interpretations of regional southern Italian home cooking at their tiny L'Angolo in South Philadelphia.

Every cook needs a go-to salad recipe to whip up for picnics, backyard barbecues, and potlucks. Three-bean, coleslaw, and potato salads are obvious choices. But if you really want to curry favor with health-conscious guests, try a Curried Brown Rice Chickpea Salad instead. Based on staple ingredients highlighted in the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid ( www.oldwayspt.org/mediterranean-diet-pyramid ), the salad delivers loads of protein and fiber. Thanks to the growing popularity of hummus, the chickpea has become the most widely consumed legume in the world.

On busy weeknights, we take our dinner shortcuts wherever we can find them. But this doesn't require sacrificing healthy home cooking. Make smart choices - as in this recipe for red curry potatoes and chickpeas - and you can have a great from-scratch dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. For deep, lush, and totally effortless flavor, I use canned coconut milk for the liquid. Looking to cut fat? Don't hesitate to use low-fat coconut milk. It won't be quite so lush, but the flavors will still be great.

Here's a dish that falls into the quick-and-easy category, and which will accommodate unexpected vegan guests or serve as a fast weeknight meal. From Giuliano Hazan's new book Thirty Minute Pasta , it's made up of ingredients probably already in your pantry. Tagliatelle With Chickpeas Makes 4 1. Bring a pot with about 6 quarts of water to a boil. 2. Peel and finely chop the onion. Put it and the olive oil into a 12-inch skillet and place over medium-high heat.

Chickpeas, also known as ceci or garbanzo beans, are among the most versatile of beans. Most middle-Americans have their first exposure to chickpeas at salad bars where cold, canned chickpeas are made available as a healthy way to add vegetable protein to salad meals. In case you're not sure just what bean I'm speaking of, chickpeas are creamy yellow in color, soft and round with a mildly nutty taste. Native to the Mediterranean area and central Asia, chickpeas have found their way into many cuisines, from the Middle and Far East to Latin America and lots of luscious places in between.

Ethnic eats are fun all on their own. But when you can dine with someone from that culture, it's like finding the secret ingredient to a recipe. So it happened to be fate that Amy Riolo was in town promoting "Nile Style," her new book on Egyptian cuisine and culture, the same day I was dining with visiting Egyptian reporter, Emad Fekry. Chef/owner of Aya's Cafe on Arch Street near Logan Square, Tarek AlBasti is from Egypt, although his culinary mentor is from Italy and his early training focused on Italian cuisine.

The art of cupboard cooking should be developed. It's especially important when inclement weather renders us housebound. Even the spring showers that are just around the corner can keep us from our shopping chores. These are times when making a meal of canned ingredients may be a necessity. The trick is having enough variety stored away for such rainy days. Filling the larder is easy for a small household, since canned goods in serving sizes for one or two are readily available.

On busy weeknights, we take our dinner shortcuts wherever we can find them. But this doesn't require sacrificing healthy home cooking. Make smart choices - as in this recipe for red curry potatoes and chickpeas - and you can have a great from-scratch dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. For deep, lush, and totally effortless flavor, I use canned coconut milk for the liquid. Looking to cut fat? Don't hesitate to use low-fat coconut milk. It won't be quite so lush, but the flavors will still be great.

In Italy, the rich, spicy tomato sauce called Amatriciana is found on many restaurant menus. Yet this pasta sauce makes a quick dinner for hectic weekday nights. This recipe uses bacon instead of the traditional pancetta.   Spaghetti all' Amatriciana Makes 2 servings   4 slices low-salt, no-sugar-added bacon (3 oz.) 1 cup sliced onion 2 cups canned diced or crushed tomatoes 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 1/4 pound spaghetti 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1. Bring a large pot filled with 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil over high heat.

Every cook needs a go-to salad recipe to whip up for picnics, backyard barbecues, and potlucks. Three-bean, coleslaw, and potato salads are obvious choices. But if you really want to curry favor with health-conscious guests, try a Curried Brown Rice Chickpea Salad instead. Based on staple ingredients highlighted in the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid ( www.oldwayspt.org/mediterranean-diet-pyramid ), the salad delivers loads of protein and fiber. Thanks to the growing popularity of hummus, the chickpea has become the most widely consumed legume in the world.

Warm and inviting this chickpea and pasta soup has its origins in an ancient Roman dish, La Minestra di Orazio, or Horace's Chickpea and Pasta Soup. In one of his satires, Horace is quoted as saying, "I'm going home to a bowl of leeks, chickpeas and lasagna. . . . " In fact this is one of the earliest references to pasta of any kind. This adapted version uses canned chickpeas and acini pepe pasta. Acini pepe, also called pastina, is Italian for peppercorns and they look like tiny beads.

As a driven young chef in my first major job 30 years ago, I did some crazy things in my search for authenticity. Perhaps my most notorious act was choosing to serve fresh, green fava beans for the opening of the restaurant, an event to which several hundred guests had been invited. I joined the staff in cleaning six bushels of favas, which involved opening the large, tough outer pods, removing the inner beans, blanching them, and then individually removing the skin from each bean.

Ethnic eats are fun all on their own. But when you can dine with someone from that culture, it's like finding the secret ingredient to a recipe. So it happened to be fate that Amy Riolo was in town promoting "Nile Style," her new book on Egyptian cuisine and culture, the same day I was dining with visiting Egyptian reporter, Emad Fekry. Chef/owner of Aya's Cafe on Arch Street near Logan Square, Tarek AlBasti is from Egypt, although his culinary mentor is from Italy and his early training focused on Italian cuisine.

Life is a bottomless pasta bowl for fans of Philadelphia's Italian BYOBs. Hardly a week goes by without yet another new trattoria turning on the lights and firing up an espresso machine. I expected the pace to slacken a couple of years ago. But it hasn't, even if some of the more mundane efforts prove unequivocally that there is such a thing as too much fried calamari and penne pomodoro. There have been a few notable stars, though, cooking from the heart of the trend. And chef Davide and Kathryn Faenza have rightfully won a strong following for their unique interpretations of regional southern Italian home cooking at their tiny L'Angolo in South Philadelphia.