The 9×13 Life: Chickpeas, also known as Arbes

Love fresh, hot arbes? Don’t love the mess of cooking arbes in a pot? We got you.

There’s something about eating chickpeas when they are fresh and hot, and you don’t get that when you buy them ready-made in the grocery from the refrigerator section next to the dips. 

You know exactly what we are saying, because you have eaten warm arbes at one point or another. You might have even prepared the arbes on your own, in the traditional way like we first showed you how in this post.

Arbes are traditionally served at a shalom zachor (along with beer), the Friday night after a baby boy is born. But you don’t need to wait until there’s a new baby to enjoy them. Because now, preparing them at home is easier than ever. The hardest part is remembering to soak the chickpeas, but no worries, we have a tip for that too. 

So yes, the first thing you need to do is soak those chickpeas overnight. Or, at least 8 hours, but ideally 12. 

You want the chickpeas to absorb most of the water; you can see the difference before vs. after here.

Oh, and about that tip we mentioned above? We learned that once the beans are soaked, you can refrigerate them until ready to cook (or even freeze them!). So you can even pre-soak beans on a Tuesday and bake the 9×13 on Friday for fresh arbes and there’s no need to specifically “remember to soak the chickpeas overnight” on Thursday. Just do it whenever you do remember! 

Once the chickpeas are soaked, drain them in a colander and rinse with cold water. The water tends to get a bit smelly, so make sure to rinse. 

Place the rinsed chickpeas in a 9×13 (we used a deep 9×13 for the photos, but really, it’s not necessary. You might want to place the regular 9×13 on a sheet pan to catch any eventual spills.) 

In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients, starting with the dry ingredients.

Then add the boiling water and give it a stir.

Pour the mixture over the chickpeas. 

Now simply cover tightly and bake! They should take between 1 hour and 1 hour and 20 minutes (check them after 1 hour). You want the chickpeas to be soft to the bite but not too cooked. When chickpeas overcook they become mushy and lose their shape, so be careful.

Drain the chickpeas or remove them from the pan using a slotted spoon or our favorite Colander Spoon. We like to do it this way so as not to ruin the chickpeas.

Be sure to rewarm before you’re ready to enjoy!