Neurodivergent Friendly Recipe Series #3: Delicious Sephardic Rice and Chickpeas

It’s been entirely too long since I shared a neurodivergent friendly recipe here! To make up for the lapse in time, I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes. I even (attempted) to take photos of the process but I remind you that I am no food photographer. This recipe is a little different than the previous entries in my neurodivergent friendly recipe series as this one comes with a bit of a Jewish cultural and history tangent lesson as well.

A Sephardic History Lesson

Since this is a family recipe that just happens to be a neurodivergent friendly recipe, I’m going to force some family history on you. If you’re wondering what a Sephardic is, it’s me. I’m a Sephardic. Sephardic is a variation on the Hebrew word for Spain, so Sephardic Jew means Spanish Jew. However, it’s a bit more complicated than that. When the Romans conquered Judea in the first century, Jews revolted against Roman rule. As punishment, the Romans renamed Judea to Palestina, forcibly expelled the Jews in 136CE, and took some of them into slavery in other parts of the Roman Empire. This is largely how Jews came to be in Spain (and how the Colosseum was built.)

Sephardic Jews lived in Spain for centuries. They began speaking Ladino, a language that blended Hebrew and Spanish. A similar blending happened with the foods they prepared and clothing that they wore. In 1492, after 13 centuries, Spain’s Jews were expelled, persecuted, and forced to convert to Christianity if they wanted to remain. Spain’s Crypto Jews still lived in fear and as a result, many of their descendants today have no idea their ancestors were Jewish.

Sephardic Recipes

When Spain’s Jews were expelled, they went to places all over the world. Some went home to Eretz Israel, which was then under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Others went to Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, and many other places throughout the Middle East and Europe. My family went to Ottoman Turkey.

Wherever Sephardic Jews settled, they blended local foods into the recipes they brought with them. In every area they settled, you can see many similarities in the Sephardic dishes they cook but with local-inspired variations. In 1971, the Sephardic Sisterhood in Los Angeles compiled many of these recipes from Sephardic Jews into a book. Each recipe has the name of who submitted it, who they got it from (usually their mom, grandma, or mother-in-law), and where their family came from.

My great-grandma, the first Sephardic Jew born in the Pacific Northwest, gave copies of it to her granddaughters, including my mom, who then passed it on to me. I adore this cookbook and genuinely feel the love between the generations not only when I look through it, but especially when I cook from it. There is something just beautiful and bonding about cooking things your ancestors made for thousands of years. From that love, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes from it.

Arroz Asopado con Pinones

Don’t worry, I don’t think you magically speak Ladino so I’ll translate for you: rice with chickpeas/garbanzo beans and pine nuts. This neurodivergrent friendly recipe is truly a favorite of mine to make. It’s super easy to make, delicious, and gives a nice protein boost. I also love rice. I’m yet to try a rice I don’t love, but I know I can’t exist on rice alone. That’s why it’s great that this dish includes onions, tomatoes, and chickpeas, all of which contribute to an ADHD-friendly diet.

Admittedly, this neurodivergent friendly recipe isn’t an exact replica from what’s in the cookbook. Basically, I combined two Sephardic rice dishes into one. I could lie to you and tell you it’s because I wanted to add more of a protein punch but in reality, I just love pine nuts so take any excuse to add them to something. I also added garlic and nixed the pepper because pepper we are not friends. If you like pepper, by all means you can add it.

I know you didn’t come here for my family history so I’ll get to the point. Read on for this neurodivergent friendly (and delicious) rice dish.

Rice With Chickpeas and Pine Nuts Ingredients

• 2 Large Onions, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Fresh Tomatoes, peeled and chopped OR 2/3 can of tomatoes (I switch between crushed, puree, and paste depending on what I have/can find)
• 4 Cups water
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 2 Cups Rice
• 1 Can (1 pound) Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans, rinsed
• For pepper lovers: 1/4 tsp. Pepper

How to Make Rice With Chickpeas and Pine Nuts

This is a neurodivergent friendly recipe so I’m not going to leave you hanging on the cooking front. If you’re like me and your mom didn’t teach you how to cook, here is how to chop an onion without it taking forever. Highly recommend watching YouTube videos of cooking tips and how to cut different vegetables. Truly a game-changer. Now that I’ve gotten that tangent out of the way, let’s get to making this tasty neurodivergent friendly recipe!

1. Warm up the oil for a few seconds then add the chopped onions. If you’re using frozen garlic, you can toss it in now also.

2. When about half of the onions are yellow and soft, add the pine nuts. Saute until onions are soft and golden brown.

3. Add tomatoes, water, and salt. If you like pepper, add it now as well. Stir to mix the ingredients, then bring to a boil.

4. Add rice and chickpeas. Give it a stir, cover it, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste the rice to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. If it’s not, add a bit more water, cover, and let simmer for a couple more minutes.

That’s it! Like I said, this neurodivergent friendly recipe is super easy. It makes 6-8 servings so this one cooking session will buy you three or four nights’ worth of dinners. Sometimes I have it as my main dinner with a salad or veggies on the side. Other times I have chicken or salmon on the side to get some more protein in. I truly hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. If you do try it, let me know in the comments how you like it. Please don’t be shy to share your favorite neurodivergent friendly recipe with me either!