Inspiration

“Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into.” ~Henry Beecher

Sunday, July 4, 2010

A Wholesome Snack - Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas: They are a good source of plant-based protein, calcium, iron, and fiber and I love them in salads, curries, and ground in hummus. Recently, an online friend posted a recipe for roasted chickpeas that sounded easy to make and delicious. Her recipe called for a canned chickpeas, but I no longer buy food in cans, and since I’m on a mission to find ways to not only use fresh ingredients but to also save time with them, I decided to modify the recipe a bit. Dried chickpeas can be found in bulk at local natural foods stores or at markets such as Whole Foods. Using these as the starting material, this is what I did:

Roasted Chickpeas

1 cup raw, dried chickpeas, picked through

Lots of filtered water

2 -3 T Grapeseed or another high smoking point oil

Spices or herbs of your choice to taste, such as garlic powder, cumin, tumeric, pepper, sea salt, etc. ½ to 1 teaspoon per seasoning works well

1. The night before roasting, place the dried chickpeas into a glass or ceramic bowl and add about 3 cups of water. Cover the bowl and soak overnight. If you’re going to extend the soaking, then put them in the fridge.

2. The next day, preheat the oven to 425 °F. Drain, rinse, then drain the chickpeas again. Dry them well with a clean towel.

3. Place the chickpeas well-spaced onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Roast for ~10 minutes, shake the pan to turn the chickpeas, then roast for an additional 10 minutes. Careful here, they started to pop in the oven if left for too long : )

4. During this 10 minutes, mix the oil and seasonings in a bowl big enough to fit the chickpeas. Remove the chickpeas from the oven, mix them well with the oil and spices, then place them back on the cookie sheet and roast for a final 10 minutes, or until crispy but not burned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

These are great alone as a snack or would make nice croutons for a salad. I’m thinking they might also make a nice roasted chickpea hummus. My next experiment with them…

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