Chickpeas with White and Wild Rice, Cranberries and Spices

Yotam Ottolenghi's first two cookbooks — Ottolenghi and Plenty — occupy treasured spaces on my cookbook shelves as much as for the distinctive and accessible recipes as for the stunning photographs that illustrate them. With this year's release of a new cookbook, this was the easiest present to buy for myself.

Jerusalem: A Cookbook is a culinary journey back to the food of this London restauranteur's and his head chef Sami Tamimi's home city. Ottolenghi and Tamimi share dishes and stories about food from the many cultures that inhabit this ancient and astonishingly diverse city, all with their characteristic love of good ingredients and wonderful flavors — it's actually a pleasure to read even if you don't make anything from it. But as with the previous two books, the recipes in Jerusalem are all straightforward and typically elegant in their simplicity, letting just a few fresh ingredients combine with a handful of seasonings to create spectacular dishes.

This simple warm chickpea salad with white and wild rice, dried cranberries and spices is just such an example of a simple mingling of ingredients into something that is greater than the sum of its parts, but without losing the unique contributions of flavors that each ingredient has to offer. Adapted from Jerusalem, it's easy to make, absolutely delicious, and a perfect light meal for any time of year and certainly a shining addition to your festive table.

Chickpeas with White and Wild Rice, Cranberries and Spices

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook Cuisine: Israeli Published on December 10, 2012 Simple and elegant warm salad of chickpeas, white and wild rice with spices and dried cranberries Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (1 1/2 cups cooked or 14 oz can) 1/3 cup wild rice 1 cup basmati rice 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon curry powder pinch of cayenne 1 to 2 fresh green or red chilies, cut into slivers   1/2 cup peanut or cooking oil 1 onion, sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached white flour 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries small handful fresh parsley sea salt to taste fresh ground black pepper to taste Instructions: Rinse the chickpeas and soak for 8 hours or overnight covered in several inches of water. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a small saucepan and cover with several inches of fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, rinse the wild rice and add to a small saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes or until the grains are just tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside. At the same time, rinse the basmati rice and add to a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer undisturbed for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and set aside. Heat the remaining olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Toss in the cumin seeds, ground spices and chilies, stir for a few moments, then add the chickpeas and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Stir for a couple of minutes to heat the chickpeas, then transfer the contents to a large mixing bowl. In the same saucepan, pour in the peanut or cooking oil and heat over high heat. Meanwhile, toss the sliced onion with the flour in a bowl with your hands to lightly coat the onion. When the oil is very hot, gently place some of the onion in the oil and fry for 2 or 3 minutes or until the onion is golden brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Repeat in batches until all the onion is fried. Fold the rices, fried onions, cranberries and parsley into the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Other recipes you may enjoy:
Ottolenghi's Chickpea Sauté with Greek Yogurt
Chickpea, Olive and Feta Cheese Salad
Wild Rice and Asparagus Salad

On the top of the reading stack: "Simply Satisfying" by Jeanne Lemlin

Audio Accompaniment: Sima Deep - Make Me Flow