I was shopping at The Produce Station recently, buying food for my holiday weekend which celebrated Opening Day, Passover (two Seders), and Easter one right after the other from Thursday through Sunday.  And while I was perusing all the lovely fruits and vegetables and cheeses and wines and prepared foods and other tempting goodies at the store, I was intrigued by little green pods about one inch long with short stems... fresh garbanzo beans.

I admit that I had only previously eaten dried garbanzo beans which have been reconstituted, canned beans, and shmushed beans that have been pureed into hummus.  I had never tried — or seen — fresh ones before.  There's always some new food adventure to enjoy, isn't there?

The garbanzo beans came with a simple recipe sheet: heat oil, add beans (still in their pods), saute for 1 minute, sprinkle on some salt, eat heartily.

I tried this, but found that the beans were still too crunchy and raw; so I tossed them back into the pan for about 5 minutes, scorching the pods a bit.  Then the beans become a consummate finger food: pop open the pods, pop out the garbanzo beans, pop them into your mouth ... and find that with a bit of oiliness and a bit of saltiness, these tender little tidbits are as addictive as popcorn.

Sautéed Fresh Garbanzo Beans

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh garbanzo beans in their pods
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the pods and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle on salt then place into a serving bowl.

Pop open the pods and enjoy the beans!

Serves 2 for a snack.

Mary Bilyeu writes about her adventures in the kitchen - making dinner, celebrating holidays, entering cooking contests ... whatever strikes her fancy. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions or comments or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

You should also visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — on which she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.