Easy starter recipes · Middle Eastern

Smoky chickpeas with coriander tahini

Chef Sami Tamimi’s recipe for crispy, smoky chickpeas served with a tahini and coriander sauce is based on a favourite Middle Eastern snack and makes a great nibble for entertaining. Traditional inspiration: “Qdameh (or leblebi) is a favourite Middle Eastern roasted chickpea snack,” says Sami. “The dish is believed to have come to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe from Iran around the fifteenth century and is eaten as you would eat salted nuts. As kids, we used to be able to buy them wrapped in a paper cone and snack on them on the way back from school but somehow these scrumptious things have gone out of fashion nowadays.” Sami’s version: “In a culinary twist, I sought to reimagine qdameh as deconstructed hummus, which is a simple yet elegant dish to kick off any meal or serve as a starter. Or serve the chickpeas on their own as a healthy snack or to accompany drinks.” Recipe taken from Boustany (Ebury Press £30, out 19 June) and tested by delicious.