Over the last number of years, the humble avocado has become the star of “hipster” culture, with avocado toast being the signature dish that publicly identified members.
Avocado toast is pretty tasty, and you don’t need to wear a long beard and have a man-bun to enjoy it. But other veg can smash onto toast equally well, and chickpea is a great option.
Last night I had set some dried chickpeas to soak, planning a chana masala for tonight’s dinner. I always add a little more than I need, so that I can do something tasty like this for lunch. I boiled the whole batch this morning with a couple of lightly-crushed garlic cloves and a bay leaf. I added a pinch of salt and a half-teaspoon of baking soda - which softens the chickpea skins.
For me, a basic smash will have fork-crushed chickpeas, some vegan mayo, a small pinch of salt if needed, some acid such as lemon juice or rice vinegar, and plenty of freshly milled black pepper.
For this one I went for the “tuna” taste and added dried dill, finely chopped red onion, finely chopped garlic clove, chopped capers, some nutritional yeast, and some dried seaweed (the Wild Irish brand is great for this!)
You know, it doesn’t really taste like tuna, but I don’t really want it too! 😀