Because the longer, warmer days, are just perfect to treat family and friends to brunch, gossip and a whole lot of fun. And since the less time spent cooking means the more time spent with family, then simple brunch recipes like this baharat marinated chickpea sandwich can only be a good, good thing.
When it comes to brunch, I tend to focus on one or two things and build my menus around these. And most recently it has been bakery related goods that have got my creative mojo going. We all know that there is nothing like the taste and smell of fresh, fresh bread right?
I’m lucky enough to live not too far from an Iceland Foods shop, which now has fresh bread delivered every day. And peeps, their luxury breads are properly slow-baked, each loaf taking 16 hours to make, so the complex reactions which turn flour, yeast and water into bread, have really had time to happen. So naturally I HAD to have some of these.
So recent brunches have included some of their luxury sourdough loaf (awesome with smashed peas or olive oil and beetroot hummus), sourdough crumpets (with smoked mackerel pate or just plain warm melty butter) and their cheese toped rolls (the perfect base for making mini pizzas for the kiddoes).
This weekend, the children godfather came to visit and I decided to use their luxury five-grain loaf (only the best for him). And our centre piece was this baharat marinated chickpea sandwich.
This sandwich starts with what I call my magic baharat sauce, a really simple but stunning concept I first shared in my baharat spiced chickpea salad. Basically, mix the baharat with cumin and thyme, lemon and olive oil. Then warm it for about a min on medium heat to really release those flavours – and right there, in that pot, you create a sauce that you have to try yourself to understand how good it is.
The baharat sauce certainly added a fantastic depth of flavour to the marinated chickpeas and avocado filling. I recommend making the filling a couple of hrs before actually serving it to give the chickpeas time soak in all that flavour.
Then ladle those marinated chickpeas on the bread, serve, sit back and watch the magic unfolding in everyone’s mouth.
Here I show to make this baharat marinated chickpea sandwich. Please do try this and if you do make it, then please do tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram  or twitter so that I can pop over and have a look. It is really, really awesome for me when you make any one of my recipes.
Thank you for reading my baharat marinated chickpea sandwich recipe post. This post is sponsored by some really lovely folk. Thank you for supporting them, as they make it possible for me to continue dreaming up recipes, African recipes, Sierra Leonean recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Opinions as always, are my own.
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ tsp baharat spice blend
- ½ tsp chilli flakes optional
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp salt
- 200 g or a (400g, 14oz), chickpea tin drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 large avocado peeled, de-stoned and finely cubed
- 2 spring onions scallions, finely chopped
- 4 slices of bread or 8 if you want to make a closed sandwich
- Mix all the ingredients together except the cumin seeds.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add in the cumin seeds and toast them until fragrant.
- Add in the baharat mix and stir for approximately 1 min and then remove from the heat and let cool. Try not to have a foodgasm at this moment as this smells soooooooo good.
- Now combine all the ingredients for the filling together and pour over the baharat sauce and mix till everything is coated in the sauce.
- Chill for a few hours so that the flavours really meld together.
- Layer the sandwiches starting with a slice of bread, then the filling, and the second slice of bread if using.
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This looks SO good! I love a good nutty seedy bread, and topped with these chickpeas – I am sure it is heaven. And the baharat sauce sounds divine. I am definitely going to try it!
This is so interesting to marinate your chickpeas for a sandwich. The flavors sound perfect and I can’t wait to try it. That bread looks like a sandwich fav too!
This recipe sounds so delicious, easy and simple!
These look absolutely delicious! I adore chickpeas, but have never thought of having them on a sandwich before. Definitely time to remedy that! 🙂
That bread sounds fantastic! I’d love to try this sandwich!
That looks like a really good sandwich!
This sounds so good! Your sauce with the cumin and baharat sounds sensational – and perfect for brunch. I’m working my way through Iceland’s fresh bread range and it’s really good!
16 hours to make a loaf of bread?! Some serious love has gone in to that 🙂 this looks delicious. We always have chickpeas in the cupboard and I’m often looking for new and interesting things to do with them!
I love the flavors in this sauce! Marinating the chickpeas is pure genius
This sounds delicious! I love marinated chickpeas and what a great idea to serve them in a sandwich.
This chickpea sandwich looks packed with flavor and absolutely delicious!
Oh boy, that looks SO good Bintu! Great job lady!
I’ve been scoffing Iceland’s new sourdough crumpets all morning – OMG someone take them away from me!!!
Jane x
YUM! This is my kind of sandwich! I was JUST looking for vegetarian sandwich ideas yesterday so this is perfect!
Never come across baharat before. Where does it originate from and where can I buy it?
Love the look of the seeded loaf.
I love Baharat and chickpeas. Sounds like an easy and lovely recipe that’s perfect for breakfast or brunch!
This is a great looking sandwich. Chickpeas are so nutritious, and the perfect meat alternative.