Think of chickpeas as cream-colored legumes that come only dried or out of a can?

Then you don't know beans.

Meet one of the new kids in the produce aisles: fresh garbanzos -- tiny emerald-green beans sheathed in downy, papery, pale celadon pods.

Whether called ceci in Italian, channa in India, or garbanzo in Spanish, they are one of the most consumed legumes in the world, as well as one of the oldest, dating back to ancient Egypt.

Unlike the more ubiquitous dried version, which takes hours to cook, the delicate, fresh green ones are smaller and can be eaten raw. Just peel off the pod to reveal one -- or sometimes two -- beans with a sweet, herbal-grassy flavor. Or steam or blanch unshelled garbanzos for just a few minutes and eat out-of-hand like edamame. Or add cooked, shelled fresh garbanzos to salads, soups, vegetable sautes, stews, or in place of canned ones in your favorite hummus recipe.

Chefs' darlings

With a nutty, almost fresh-picked pea flavor that heightens when cooked, fresh garbanzos have become a darling of restaurant chefs. And thanks to a California producer, they are now available pretty much year-round in a growing number of groceries.

"The difference between fresh and dried is night and day," says Mark Sullivan, executive chef of the Village Pub in Woodside, Calif. "They're creamier fresh. And very precious."

Sullivan double-peels the garbanzos by removing the outer pod as well as the thin membrane that covers each bean. He admits you don't have to go that extra step to take off the membrane, but he finds the beans just a bit sweeter without it.

At the Village Pub, he serves fresh and dried garbanzos together -- to play up their contrast -- as an accompaniment to pan-roasted halibut.

At Piperade in San Francisco, fresh garbanzos and corn kernels form a bed for succulent veal cheeks. And at its nearby sister restaurant Bocadillos, diners dig into fresh garbanzos spiked with cumin and blood sausage.

"They're kind of fun," says Gerald Hirigoyen, executive chef of Piperade and Bocadillos. "People think these can't be garbanzos."

That's the puzzled expression I get whenever I set down a big platter of them at casual dinner parties. My favorite way of preparing them is the method favored by those of Mexican heritage -- pan-roasting. It's also one of the easiest ways to cook them.

Just heat some olive oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat; add fresh, unshelled garbanzos, cover, and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

The papery pods will get charred and almost potato-chip-like. The beans inside will be firm but tender. Have a stack of napkins handy and let guests peel their own pods. Pour a nice chilled bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, whose crisp, grassy, gooseberry notes are an ideal match.

Pan-roasted fresh garbanzos make a can't-miss pre-dinner nibble or perfect bar snack. You'll get a kick out of watching your once-skeptical guests find they can't stop eating them.

Fortunately, they are nutritious. A half cup has 120 calories, no cholesterol, 6 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, and 15 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for iron.

Fresh garbanzo-lovers now can get their fix year-round, too. Sanger-based Califresh of California, one of the world's leading producers and packers of fresh garbanzos, contracts with California farmers who grow them locally, May through October. Once the local season ends, Califresh works with farmers in Mexico to buy them through the winter.

Fresh garbanzo fanatics like myself couldn't be more grateful that they did.

PAN-ROASTED FRESH GARBANZOS

Serves 4 as an appetizer

2 cups (about) fresh garbanzo beans in the pod

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt or kosher salt

Place garbanzos in colander, and give them a quick rinse under cold water. Shake off excess water.

Heat olive oil in a 10- to 12-inch non-stick saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add garbanzo beans in one layer. Cover pan and allow to cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring beans once halfway through cooking time. Test one by peeling off pod and eating bean. It should be tender; the papery pod should be charred looking. Sprinkle garbanzos with sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature, with plenty of napkins for guests to use as they peel off the pods. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, and enjoyed cold or at room temperature the next day.

MICROWAVED FRESH GARBANZOS

Serves 4 as an appetizer

2 cups (about) fresh garbanzos in the pod

Sea salt or kosher salt, optional

Chili powder and fresh lime juice, optional

Place fresh garbanzos in colander and give a quick rinse under cold water. Shake off excess water.

Place garbanzos in microwavable bowl and loosely cover. Cook on high for 1 minute. Test one by shelling it and eating the bean. It should be tender. If not, return garbanzos to microwave and cook on high for 25 seconds.

Once cooked, you can shell and use cooked beans in salads, soups and stews. Or serve straight from the microwave, warm, with a sprinkling of salt, a sprinkling of chili powder and lime juice, or all three.

FRESH STEWED GARBANZOS WITH CHORIZO AND CALAMARI

Serves 4 as an appetizer. From Gerald Hirigoyen, executive chef of Piperade and Bocadillos, both in San Francisco.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic, chopped

1/3 cup onions, chopped

1/4 cup Spanish-style, smoked chorizo, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1-1/2 cups fresh, shelled, uncooked garbanzos

2 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup tomatoes, chopped

1/2 teaspoon espelette pepper (see Notes)

Salt

12 to 16 fresh, cleaned calamari tubes and tentacle pieces

1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons parsley

Place olive oil, garlic and onions in a medium saute pan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes (or until onions are soft). Add chorizo and thyme, sauteing for 3 minutes more. Add garbanzos and saute for 1 minute before adding chicken stock and tomatoes.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until almost all liquid is gone (about 15 minutes).

Add espelette pepper and salt to taste.

Add calamari and cook for 3 minutes, making sure not too overcook (calamari should be just firm).

Mix in lemon juice and parsley. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

Notes: Espelette pepper (Piment d'Espelette) is a spice made from red peppers native to the tiny village of Espelette in the heart of the French Basque region. It has a rich aroma and a gently spicy, fragrant character. In Espelette, it is often used at the table in place of black pepper.

Chef Gerald Hirigoyen, who is Basque, imports the ground pepper. A 1-ounce container is $16.50 on his Web site, www.piperade.com. It is also available at the Spanish Table, www.spanishtable.com, and at Williams-Sonoma stores.

Hirigoyen says you can substitute sweet paprika or chile powder, but neither has the exact delicate complexity.