roasted chickpeas

Grant and I have never been big snackers, but the little man seems to need a near constant stream of calories. Seriously, I might have to take a second job when this kid is a teenager just to pay the grocery bills. At any rate, I’ve had to get a little creative with snacks because we don’t have processed stuff in the house, but, at the same time, I don’t want to spend much time on throwing together a snack to tide him over until mealtime. These roasted chickpeas have become a staple at our house. Jasper loves them, and now Grant and I find ourselves sneaking handfuls throughout the day too. I try to make a big batch every few weeks and just keep them in the fridge for a quick protein fix. They are ripe for experimentation, so feel free to try your own spice variations.

Roasted chickpeas
Barely adapted from Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Ingredients

4 cups cooked chickpeas*
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Throw the chickpeas in a large bowl with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, garlic, and the spices and mix the ingredients. On your stove, put a large rimmed baking sheet so that it covers two burners. Add another tablespoon of oil to the baking sheet and turn the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is shimmering (a minute or two), pour the chickpeas onto the baking sheet (you want to make sure the baking sheet is large enough, so that the chickpeas are in a single layer) and cook them for about a minute, using a spatula to spread the chickpeas around to ensure that they’re all covered in the spices. You just want to cook them on the stove top just until the spices “blossom” (i.e. you can smell them). Throw the pan in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

These taste best that first day. I just throw them in the fridge once they have cooled off, and we eat them all week long. I really like them on salads, but they’re great just as a quick snack too. Experiment with other spice variations. I’ve seen people do a sweet variation too, although we’re so addicted to our slightly spicy version that I haven’t ventured out much further. Some ideas:

• Just salt and pepper
• A little maple syrup and cinnamon
• Coriander or tumeric in place of the cumin above
• Garlic and dill
• Parmesan cheese
• Be adventurous!

*I buy the chickpeas in bulk and cook them in large batches. Then I use some for roasted chickpeas, and freeze the rest in two cup portions to add to soups or tacos for an easy weeknight meal. Feel free to double this recipe, but just use two baking sheets so that the chickpeas are in a single layer to ensure that they cook evenly.