Sami Tamimi’s Smoky Chickpeas with Cilantro Tahini

Smoky chickpeas with cilantro tahini is a lovely year-round dish by chef Sami Tamimi from his beautiful, bountiful book Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine (Ten Speed Press, 2025).

Boustany is indeed a celebration of vegetables — it’s entirely vegetarian, with plenty of plant-based dishes as well. It is also a journey through Palestinian recipes and inspirations, laced with fascinating cultural histories.

Sami’s personal memories, anecdotes, and culinary notes make this a cultural journey as well as a cookbook with recipes that really work.

Even as a decades-long vegetable aficionado, I’ve already learned so much from this book. Most of the basic ingredients are easy to find in grocery or farm markets. Using some of the characteristic seasonings (sumac, za’atar, aleppo chili, pomegranate molasses) and herbs (parsley, mint) of the cuisine is what takes their flavors to the next level.

And there’s generous use of tahini, garlic, yogurt (in my case, as a vegan, or anyone who’s dairy-free, plant-based yogurt is an easy swap-in). It’s worth noting that there are generous chapters featuring breads and sweets as well.

Here’s what Sami has to add about Smoky Chickpeas with Cilantro Tahini (Hummus Hab bil Tahinia w al Kuzbara):

“Qdameh or leblebi are believed to have come to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe from Iran around the fifteenth century. Qdameh is a favorite Middle Eastern roasted chickpea snack, which is eaten as you would eat salted nuts.

As kids, we used to be able to buy them wrapped in a paper cone and snack on them on the way back from school. Somehow, these scrumptious things have gone out of fashion and are slightly harder to find nowadays.

You can serve the chickpeas on their own and have them as a healthy snack or to accompany drinks. In a culinary twist, I sought to reimagine qdameh as deconstructed hummus, which is a simple yet elegant dish to kick off any meal or serve as a starter. Picture it: a platter filled with za’atar & anise crackers or bread alongside a plate of these delicious roasted chickpeas.”

Boustany is available on Bookshop.org and wherever books are sold

Why I love this recipe (and hope you will, too)

• It surprises the palate with layers of flavor building on one another.
• Do you have a big bunch of cilantro in the fridge waiting to be used?
  This is a fantastic way to use it up while it’s fresh
• This smoky chickpea recipe is a lovely introduction to Palestinian cuisine, and uses common ingredients that can be found anywhere.
• It’s easy to make and will have you eating in no time.

Reprinted with permission from Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2025. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photograph at top copyright © 2025 by Ola O. Smit. See more about Sami Tamimi following the recipe box.

Explore more …

• Easy and Tasty Chickpea Recipes
• Tahini Recipes — Savory & Sweet

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Sami Tamimi’s Smoky Chickpeas with Cilantro Tahini

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Smoky chickpeas with cilantro tahini is a lovely year-round dish by chef Sami Tamimi from his beautiful, bountiful book Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Tahini Sauce

• Rounded ½ cup (150g) tahini paste
• ½ cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed to a paste
• Salt
• 1½ cups fresh cilantro

The rest

• Two 14-ounce (400g) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp Aleppo chile flakes (or regular dried chile flakes)
• ½ tsp sweet paprika
• 1⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F (or see alternative to baking in step 3).
2. Combine the ingredients for the tahini sauce in a blender or food processor and process until they form a smooth paste.
3. Put the chickpeas into a medium bowl with the olive oil, spices, and a heaping 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt, and mix well. 
4. Spread the chickpea mixture on a parchment-lined baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the lemon juice, mix and leave to cool. [Alternative to baking: If you don't want to turn on the oven, cook the mixture in step 3 in a wide skillet or stir-fry pan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until nicely glazed and touched with golden brown.]
5. Place the tahini sauce and cilantro in a blender or food processor and mix for a couple of minutes, until they form a smooth paste.
6. When ready to serve, spread the tahini sauce on a serving plate, pile the chickpeas in the middle and garnish with a few cilantro leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

Sami Tamimi is a Palestinian chef, restaurateur, and food writer who is based between London, UK, and Umbria, Italy. In 2002, Sami partnered with Yotam Ottolenghi and Noam Bar to open the first Ottolenghi deli in Notting Hill. At Ottolenghi, Sami and Yotam created a concept that has proven a huge success from day one, serving trademark savory foods and pastries. Over the years, Sami was in charge of food creativity and nurturing younger chefs around the company.

Sami and Yotam have written two critically acclaimed cookbooks, Ottolenghi and Jerusalem. Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigley and was the winner of the Fortnum and Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021, James Beard Award Nominee 2022, IACP Award winner, and longlisted for The Art of Eating Prize 2021. Boustany is his first solo cookbook. Visit him at SamiTamimi.com.