Chickpeas with Toasted Bread and Yogurt
- 1¼ cups chickpeas, soaked for 2 hours or overnight
- salt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large or 2 small very thin Lebanese flat breads
- 2½ tablespoons tahini
- 4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature
- ½ to 2/3 cup pine nuts
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
The bread must be the very thin flat bread known as khobz halabi, which is sold by Lebanese bakeries.
- Drain the chickpeas and put them in a pan with water to cover and simmer, covered, for 1¼ to 1½ hours, until they are very soft. Add water, as needed, so that the level remains about 1/3 inch above the chickpeas throughout the cooking. Add salt when the chickpeas have begun to soften and the crushed garlic toward the end.
- Toast the bread in an oven preheated to 400°F until it becomes crisp. Then place it at the bottom of an ovenproof dish and break it up into smallish pieces by pressing down on it with the palm of your hand. Pour the hot chickpeas and much of their cooking liquid over the pieces of bread so that they are well soaked. If you are not ready to serve, you can reheat this in the oven when you are.
- Before serving, beat the tahini into the yogurt, and pour it over the chickpeas. Quickly fry the pine nuts in the oil, stirring, until lightly browned, and sprinkle over the dish.