Portobellos with Chickpeas and Tahini

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Wipe the heads of the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Cut out the stems, then place the mushrooms, gill side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Score the inside of each mushroom all over with the tip of a knife, to allow the oil to penetrate, then drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil onto the mushrooms.

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, then pound in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, plus the sumac, lemon juice and salt. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can finely chop or press the garlic, and make the paste in a bowl.) Mash half of the chickpeas into the oil and garlic paste. Stir in the tahini, thyme, and half of both types of sesame seeds, if using. Taste, and season with more salt if needed.

Fill the mushrooms with the chickpea paste, then cover each with the remaining whole chickpeas. Drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and scatter with the remaining sesame seeds. Bake for 20 or 30 minutes, until the mushrooms are just tender when pierced with a fork.

Serve warm.