On Monday night, I entered essentially the most chaotic grocery retailer in Manhattan armed with one thing I not often, if ever, buy groceries with: a listing.
I wanted garlic, purple onion, scallions, limes, chiles. However one thing occurs as soon as I depart the produce division for the canned items aisle: I expertise what I can describe solely as chickpea amnesia.
Wait, do I’ve chickpeas at residence? I closed my eyes and envisioned my pantry. There are cans on that shelf, for certain. The labels on them, although, got here by way of blurry, a mirage of indiscernible beans. So I did what I do virtually each time I grocery store, and I grabbed a single can of chickpeas, simply in case. One can gained’t be too heavy in my tote, and what’s $1.39 amongst buddies (or shopper and megacorp)?
Once I received residence, I needed to chuckle. I had chickpeas, all proper. Cans upon cans of them. “I do the very same factor, and, weirdly, solely with chickpeas!” exclaimed my colleague Becky Hughes, the thoughts behind our chickpea-topped vegan Caesar recipe. She calls it chickpea anxiousness, at all times choosing up a single insurance coverage can. Its affordability — and the truth that a considerable weeknight meal can come from only one can — is justification sufficient.
When that chickpea anxiousness seems to be warranted, you may nonetheless accomplish quite a bit with that single insurance coverage can. Encompass one can of chickpeas with the contemporary produce you remembered to place in your record utilizing Lidey Heuck’s recipe for taverna salad, a Greek salad and fattoush hybrid.
Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe for fried cheese and chickpeas in spicy tomato gravy calls for only one can as properly, and it’ll burn up one other pantry staple: a 28-ounce can of diced, puréed or crushed tomatoes. It’s an amenable recipe, particularly should you went to the shop with no record. Use any cheese with a excessive melting level: halloumi or paneer is a robust contender, however even queso blanco or queso de freir will work if that’s what you’ve gotten.
Fried Cheese and Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy
View this recipe.
One Extra Factor!
Right here’s one thing particularly topical: My colleague Krysten Chambrot just lately spoke to 4 budgeting consultants in quest of ideas for stretching your {dollars} on the grocery retailer. No. 2 on the record? Eat much less meat.
Toni Okamoto, who runs the weblog Plant-Primarily based on a Price range, recommends reducing out meat at the very least one or two instances every week. It’s the “one factor that comes up over and over,” Ms. Okamoto mentioned, within the price range cookbooks she has learn, each vegetarian and never.
“For those who can go meatless a few instances per week, you may positively save,” she mentioned. Hearty eggs, legumes and tofu can all function sources of protein. And never solely are they low cost, they typically last more within the fridge than the common piece of meat, which means there’s much less of an opportunity that they’ll go to waste when life inevitably will get in the best way of dinner.
Thanks for studying, and see you subsequent week!
Electronic mail us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters can be archived right here. Attain out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com when you’ve got questions on your account.
