Chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) are one of the oldest cultivated legumes — Mediterranean kitchens have been cooking with them for at least eight thousand years. The dried bean keeps for over a year in a cool pantry; the canned version costs more but saves an overnight soak.

We reach for chickpeas when a dish needs body without weight: blended into hummus, simmered in a tomato-cumin stew, or roasted with smoked paprika as a salad topper. They take on flavor without losing their own gentle, earthy character.

If you cook from dried, soak overnight with a pinch of baking soda — the alkaline water softens the skins and shortens the cook time by half.