Welcome to Cooking Without Recipes, in which we teach you how to make a dish we love, but don’t worry too much about the nitty-gritty details of the recipe, so you can create your own spin.
I believe in the power of canned chickpeas like I believe in the power of Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU. Canned chickpea and Benson really know how to get sh*t done—and give a hearty serving of justice for victims of sexual crimes in the process. Okay, fine, that's not true on the part of chickpeas. But I've spent a lot of evenings eating this dinner while watching Benson kick some crimefighting ass. They really do work well together.
Here's what you do:
Drain a can of chickpeas and pat them dry. Toss 'em with olive oil, salt, and whatever spices you're feeling—I often go for a little harissa. Then, take a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. Microwave 'em but not too much because you still want them to be a nice bright green and not that terrible brownish-green color that you find in bad fried rice.
Now, take out a big bowl. A bowl that's much bigger than what you need, but one that makes you feel like a boss because you put your pajamas on as soon as you got home from work (the super comfy ones that your husband tells you to throw out and you're like helllll no these pants are amazing and make me feel alive). Turn on the TV, go to Hulu and find an SVU episode with assistant DA Alex Cabot because she was the best damn DA that franchise ever had.
Mix the peas and chickpeas together and dollop with Greek yogurt. Sprinkle some za'atar on everything if it fits in with your spice vibes. Don't have yogurt? Toast some breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top. A lot of them, because there are never enough breadcrumbs. Or, dump a bunch of olive-oil packed canned tuna in the bowl. Or crisp up some diced pancetta, but only if you're feeling fancy. Eat a lot. Accidentally stain your comfy pants and be okay with it. Have a sip of wine every time Ice-T is just being a really supportive cop to the rest of his team.