A few months ago, I raved about the concept of Gastrokid.com, which aims to the foodie family growing up in the fast food world. I can't lie, I sometimes see people eating fast food and I long for the ease of ordering and eating in less than 10 minutes. But alas - that is what the Gastrokid cookbook is here for - to feed (with ease) your family in, ok, a bit more than 10 minutes. The guilt that you feel after fast food won't be there so you can justify another 5-10 minutes, right?
Since trying out recipes in the cookbook for our family, there has been one recipe which stands out as a favorite for it's simplicity and rustic quality. Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta - you had me at Bruschetta. Top bread with anything and you'll find me next to it. I may not eat meat or dairy, but almighty I love wheat and gluten! I'm sure you could replace the regular bread with some wheat-free variety, but I haven't been so brave as to try that yet - but like the fast food slogan goes: make it your way, right away!
Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta
2 15oz cans chickpeas, drained (or if you're super thrifty like I am, that's about 2.5cups homemade)
extra virgin olive oil
salt, fresh black pepper
handful of freshly chopped parsley
1/2c finely chopped olives (the author uses green olives filled like the ones you use in martinis!)
garlic
2Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 baguette loaf, sliced and toasted
*Preheat the oven to 450F/200C. On a cookie or baking sheet, spread out the chickpeas and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Roast for 20 minutes or so, until golden
*In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas with the chopped parsley, olives, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Serve on toasted pieces of the baguette.
*(my own little note: for little kids who can't really chase the chickpeas off their plates, you can easily puree a bit of this mixture and schmear it on the baguette. they'll think it's hummus with a kick!)
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