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| Ingredients | | 500g dried chickpeas | | 1 bay leaf | | 1 tablespoon salt | | freshly ground black pepper | | 5 sage leaves | | 2 sprigs thyme | | 3 cloves garlic, crushed or very finely chopped | | 2 large free-range eggs, plus 1 yolk | | flour for dusting | | plenty of oil for frying (light olive oil is ideal) | | 1 clove garlic, left whole and peeled | | 1 sprig rosemary |
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| Crocchette Di Ceci (Chickpea Croquettes) |
| 01 / 09 / 05 Alessandra Zecchini |
| Photography by Aaron McLean |
| This is a delicious main course served with the sautéed tomatoes and spinach salad. The croquettes can be made a day ahead and reheated to save last-minute frying. Or they can be baked instead of fried: just brush them with olive oil and place in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes on each side, or until golden. |
Method |
Rinse the chickpeas and soak overnight in cold water. Drain, place in a saucepan with the bay leaf and cover with plenty of cold water. Cook for 11/2 hours or until tender. Drain, remove the bay leaf and put chickpeas in a food processor with salt, pepper, sage and thyme. Pulse to a fine crumble (this will not look as soft as hummus, but more like fine crumbs).
Scoop the mixture into a bowl and add the crushed garlic, eggs and extra yolk. Mix well and divide into three balls then divide each ball into 6 pieces. Shape 18 oval croquettes, no more than 2cm thick. Place on a board dusted with flour and coat well on both sides.
Pour plenty of oil into a frying pan, add the whole garlic clove and rosemary and gently bring to frying point. When hot, remove the rosemary and garlic and add the croquettes, a few at a time.Fry in small batches, turning over once, then place on paper towels to drain. Don’t move the croquettes around too much or they will fall apart, and add more oil to the pan if necessary.Store in a warm place until serving. If preparing several hours ahead, reheat gently in the oven or under the grill. Serves 6-8. 
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