Chickpeas with White and Wild Rice, Cranberries and Spices

chickpea wild rice salad

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 SpicesChickpeas with White and Wild Rice, Cranberries and Spices
Recipe by
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 recipePrint 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.

  • chickpeasHeat 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

8 comments:

janet @ the taste space said...

Love it! I didn't think there were any cookbooks I wanted this season but all of a sudden I am seeing so many great reads! Someone posted this recipe yesterday and I immediately bookmarked it. Yours looks like a great version.. looks like a souped up mujaddara. :)

Lisa Turner said...

It's a beautiful book Janet and the recipes are easily adaptable to suit your preferences and tastes. Highly recommended.

Mrs.Ahmed said...

Wooo Beautiful click and recipes looks super yum..!!!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I am totally out of the loop since I was unaware that Ottolenghi has a 3rd cookbook. This is a dish that folllows his philosophy.

Lisa Turner said...

It's a gorgeous book, just like the other two. Certainly worth having.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh, I am tempted by this cookbook. I do love Ottolenghi. Is there much for vegetarians in it?

Lisa Turner said...

There are quite a few offerings for vegetarians. I fell in love with the book right away.

Kelly said...

i made this tonight. what a lovely recipe with lovely flavors. Definitely a keeper recipe I will be making a lot. I am going to try your lemon dal recipe later this week. And after that your guacamole rice!! love your recipes!