Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas (or Garbanzo beans for my US subscribers)

I am slightly obsessed with salty snacks, they were my end-of-the-school-day food as a child, and I continued to find comfort in them long after I left formal education.  These foods aren’t as a general rule, healthy, and as such they have become relegated to occasional treat foods.  It is was, however, Saturday, and I felt like treats, and something crunchy and Munchy to have with a glass of something cold once my small person is in bed.

This is the simplest of recipes using a healthy, high fibre, high protein and high calcium (amongst other high levels of good things) ingredient, and whichever flavours that you like, salty, spicy or sweet.  It’s a fabulous snack for children, totally lunchbox friendly and can be dressed up for a dinner party drinks nibble.  This will keep well in an airtight container for a week or so.

Ingredients

1 tin of cooked chickpeas in water

1 tablespoon of avocado, coconut or olive oil

Seasoning, my most used recipe is sweet smoked paprika, oregano and a little bit of salt.

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Drain the chickpeas and dry them gently by pouring them onto kitchen paper and patting them gently, removing any loose skins.  In a bowl mix the chickpeas with the oil (f you have used coconut oil you will need to warm it slightly to liquify it), and toss through your choice of seasoning, sprinkling little by little and coating the chickpeas evenly.  If I am using the seasonings above, I would usually use about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of paprika, 1/2 of dried oregano and 1/2 course Maldon salt.

Spread the chickpeas evenly and in a single layer over a baking sheet and pop into the oven.  They will take around an hour to dry out and crisp up, but check them every 15 minutes and give them a shake to even out any that are overly browned.

Once they are golden brown, check a couple to make sure they are crispy  (you can pop them back in the over for another 10 minutes if need be), then decant to an airtight jar or tub, where they will keep well for up to a week, if they last that long.

Other nice seasonings could be Indian spices like garam masala and black onion seeds, or simply garlic salt or smoked salt.  I’ll be trying a sweet version of these soon, and will post anything worth eating.