22: Chickpeas with rocket and sherry (Page 155, Nigella Express)

When I was flicking through this book this recipe probably appealed to me the least and I probably would not have cooked it if Nigella did not suggest serving the scallops and chorizo with this recipe. I've never eaten chickpeas before, at least no knowingly, so I was a little dubious about how they would taste (understatement). I've also never had sherry before so again I had no idea what that would taste like.

This salad probably tasted a little more filling them most salads. Chickpeas taste a bit like beans but a little nutty or buttery. I can't really describe it. I thought they would be quite hard, but they were actually very soft and easy to eat. I wasn't sure about the cream sherry and I did not want more ingredients I'll never use again sitting around I bought red wine vinegar instead. All I know about sherry is that it's a sweet wine. But now I will never know what it tastes like. I read a few forums which suggested it would be okay to substitute it with anything from red wine to red wine vinegar. So I don't think it would have tasted too differently with sherry.

I don't know if the two recipes really went together. But then again I'm pretty clueless as to what really goes with what. If it hadn't been for Nigella's suggestion I would have probably tried to eat the scallops and chorizo with pasta. Probably without tomato sauce because that would overpower the taste of the chorizo. (I have learned something from the previous recipe).

But here's to not judging a recipe by it's picture (or it's name). Because chickpeas and rocket taste a lot better than I would have expected just by looking at the picture. And I'm sure vegetarians would like it.

Currently listening to "Simple man" by Graham Nash. Just finished watching "Reign over me" with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle and this was the song in the opening credits. So I downloaded the album and I really like it. A nice break from watching the Olympics.