#aquafaba

Vegan cheesecake brownies

For anyone not aware: That syrupy liquid you find in a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) is a damn-near perfect substitute for eggs/egg whites in pretty much any recipe that's not, like, FOR eggs. It's called "Aquafaba" in a lot of vegetarian & vegan recipes, but I shit u not it's. it's just canned chickpea juice.

I have heard that most kinds of bean juice will also do the trick, as will water that dried beans have been cooked/soaked in. As I have yet to verify this, I can only say that chickpeas do seem to be widely preferred (and like, the texture is UNCANNILY similar), and also the canned stuff works great. I've subbed The Bean Juice in a few cake and cookie recipes now, and although it does make the mixture smell distinctly "beany," I've not found beans at all detectable in the end results.

The ratios are dead easy, too:

3 Tblsps of Bean Goo = 1 Whole Egg

2 Tblspns = just the Egg White,

1 Tblspn = just the Yolk

Doing a little back-of-the-napkin math, I'd estimate a standard can of chickpeas contains about 12 Tblpns worth of Bean Goo, or 4 whole eggs. As of press time, canned chickpeas go for $0.89 at both Aldi and my area's dominant chain grocery. So 3 cans of chickpeas = about a dozen eggs' worth of Bean Goo = $2.67.

In other words, for about the average cost of eggs pre-Trump, you can get a dozen eggs' worth of Bean Goo, on top of like ten servings of chickpeas.

Speaking of which: once you've opened a can of chickpeas, you obviously don't want them to go to waste. And if chickpeas aren't already a staple of your daily diet, this might seem like a bit of a roadblock. That was certainly the case for me. But a few months into this little foray, I have found a good handful of low-effort chickpea recipes and can report that it's quite easy to find uses for them.

For instance, if you have a food processor or literally any kind of blender, you can make your own hummus. This recipe is super simple, customizable, and doesn't require you to just. have tahini on hand.

Hell, if you have one sturdy fork + some mayo, dijon, garlic powder, lemon juice, etc., you can make chick-pea salad, which is a vegetarian take on the standard chicken salad that I find nearly equal in flavor profile and versatility (though the texture is admittedly a bit starchy, so I wouldn't recommend it on like, a sandwich, but hey. YMMV).

I understand that the aquafaba-egg trick is well known in some culinary circles. I'm just a lifelong baker in my 30s who only learned it like 6 months ago. Given that eggs are pushing $5 right now and money's tight for . . . basically everyone, I thought I'd pay it forward. Maybe account for one of two of Today's Lucky 10,000 and hopefully save someone a few dollars down the line.

Both indulgently creamy and bright with citrus hints, this Lemony Hummus is my favourite thing to whip up, whether as an appetizer, or for a quick and tasty lunch, alongside warm Flatbreads. Happy Monday!

Ingredients (makes about 2 cups):

1 cup tinned chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

1/4 cup aquafaba (the liquid in the chickpea tin)

1 large garlic clove

a large lemon

1 1/2 heaped teaspoon tahini (sesame seed paste)

2 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil 

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground chilli

a few leaves freshly picked Garden Cilantro 

Place chickpeas and aquafaba in a food processor.

Peel and halve garlic clove, and add to the food processor as well.

Grate in the zest of half the lemon into the food processor, and the zest of the remaining half into a small plate or saucer. Set aside.

Thoroughly squeeze in the juice of the whole lemon, and add tahini and olive oil.

Sprinkle in ground cumin, fleur de sel, black pepper and ground chilli.

Process until beautifully smooth, scraping the sides with a spatula and processing again, if necessary.

Spoon Hummus in serving bowl, garnish with reserved lemon zest and Cilantro and drizzle with olive oil.