Crispy Spiced Chickpeas & Pistachio Rice
with Apricots, Cucumber Salad & Spicy Harissa Aioli
- Eggs
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
Looking for plant-based perfection? You've found it! You'll sauté smoky Tunisian-spiced chickpeas until crisp, then serve over a bed of jasmine rice studded with crunchy pistachios and chewy apricots. Top with tangy cucumber pickles for brightness, and finish with a creamy dollop of earthy, spicy harissa aioli to tie it all together.
Ingredients
1 unit
Harissa Aioli
(Contains: Eggs)
2 unit
Veggie Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Chickpeas
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
½ ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
5 teaspoon
Red Wine Vinegar
1 ounce
Dried Apricots
¼ ounce
Parsley
1 unit
Cucumber
½ tablespoon
Tunisian Spice Blend
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
½ teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
In a small pot, combine rice, half the stock concentrates, 1¼ cups water (2¼ cups for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes.
-
Keep covered off heat until ready to use in Step 5.
-
While rice cooks, wash and dry produce.
-
Trim, peel, and halve cucumber lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise into half-moons. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Roughly chop pistachios. Roughly chop parsley.
-
In a small bowl, combine cucumber, vinegar, ½ tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, and pepper (1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt for 4 servings). Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
-
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas, half the Tunisian Spice Blend (all for 4 servings), remaining stock concentrate, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Cover and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until chickpeas are slightly crispy, 2-3 minutes. TIP: Chickpeas will pop. Be careful!
-
Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
-
Fluff rice with a fork.
-
Stir in apricots, pistachios, and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings).
-
Divide rice between bowls. Top with crispy chickpeas and pickles (draining first) in separate sections. Garnish with parsley. Dollop as much harissa aioli over chickpeas as you like. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The combination of sweet apricots, spiced chickpeas, tangy pickled cucumber, and harissa aioli delivers a bold, layered flavor profile 🌶️; a few found the overall dish too complex or the harissa aioli overpowering.
- Ease of prep: This is a quick and simple recipe to assemble, with most steps coming together easily.
- Suggestions: Dry the chickpeas thoroughly before cooking and extend the stovetop time well beyond 2–3 minutes — or try crisping them in the air fryer or oven — for better texture. Use the harissa aioli sparingly, as a little goes a long way and can overshadow the other flavors.
- Leftovers: The dish tastes even better the next day, as the flavors develop and the pickled cucumber stays fresh and bright.
- Chickpeas: Getting the chickpeas truly crispy on the stovetop was a consistent challenge; patting them completely dry and cooking uncovered longer helped some customers achieve better results.
Reviews from our home cooks
I cooked the chickpeas for twice as long as recommended and they still weren't crispy (and I was using a preheated cast-iron skillet so that should not have been an issue). Also the harissa aioli was flavor overkill. Delicious, but even used very sparingly drowned out the tunisian spice blend, parsley and apricots. Would recommend omitting it. Also would recommend doubling the pistachios.
This is one of those surprise meals that you can't stop thinking about. Salty, sweet, tangy, spicy, fresh, and creamy all in one bite. We can't wait for this one to be on the menu again. Even my 13 year old enjoyed it!
We've had several different chickpea meals from Hello Fresh, and while the Greek Goddess bowl is our favorite, this one was pretty darn tasty--we especially liked the harissa aioli and would love to see it sold as a separate item, or at least provide the recipe!
Perfect balance of flavors. I would roast the chickpeas longer next time as they were a little soft but still very good.
I especially enjoyed the pistachios and dried apricots in the rice. So good!
The pistachio rice was especially good with great texture! We did struggle to get the chickpeas crispy.
I loved this meal. It was very different from anything I've cooked before. The flavors were excellent
This one is delicious! The apricots add a nice sweetness to an otherwise spicy dish and the harissa aioli adds a nice creaminess
This is my favorite dish of this week! It was super tasty and a blast of flavor in each bite
We enjoyed this, but felt there was either too much vinegar or too little sugar in the cucumber salad. We'd order this again, but play around with the ingredients.
