What You Need
- One can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or about 1.5 cups cooked)
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Ground cumin
- Ground coriander
- One lemon
- Three small bowls
The Exercise
1
Divide the chickpeas evenly into three small bowls. Drizzle each with about a teaspoon of olive oil and a small pinch of salt. Toss gently to coat.
2
Add a quarter teaspoon of cumin and a quarter teaspoon of coriander to Bowl A. Toss to coat the chickpeas evenly. Taste a few.
3
Squeeze about a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice over Bowl B. Toss to coat. Taste a few.
4
Add a quarter teaspoon of cumin, a quarter teaspoon of coriander, and about a teaspoon of lemon juice to Bowl C. Toss to coat. Taste.
A dish that tastes flat is almost never missing one ingredient. It is missing a functioning system. The grounding agents gave depth. The citrus gave lift. Together, each one made the other more fully itself. When you start seeing the systems instead of the individual ingredients, you stop guessing and start diagnosing.