Crispy Chickpeas

Crispy Chickpeas

Growing up as a young lad in the North East of England, my favorite snack in the 70’s and 80’s used to be Tudor Crisps (chips). I would get 10 pence pocket money every Friday of my mam, then I’d run to the local Co-Op grocery store which was just around the corner from our house. I’d buy five packets of my favorite crisps, like chicken, tomato, gammon (ham), pickled onion and my favorite prawn cocktail. I’d give myself one bag a day for school, as my treat!  Nowadays I only eat crisps if I make them at home, with skins left on, sliced thin and roasted in the oven (opposed to deep fried), with a touch of sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. One of my favorite snacks to nibble on at the moment are “crispy chickpeas”, again roasted in the oven. Try my flavor profile and see if you like them, you can literally come up with dozens of your own flavor combinations and still enjoy the goodness of the versatile garbanzo bean.

Did you know that the chickpea has 12.5g of fiber per cup, a ratio of 1:1 of calcium and magnesium, a good amount of folate and a huge amount of healthy potassium (477mg per cup) a super bean or legume if ever there was one – enjoy this healthy snack

Crispy Chickpeas

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1x 15oz low in sodium chickpeas, washed drained and completely dried

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon dried parsley

½ teaspoon grated lemon rind

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400’F

Method:

Place the chickpeas into a large bowl, pour over the olive oil, using a spatula toss the chickpeas around to evenly coat with oil.

Place onto a roasting pan and pop into the oven, roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until the beans are a golden brown in color and have a crunchy texture.

Remove from the oven and tip into a clean bowl, scatter over the rest of the ingredients, using your spatula to evenly coat with the spice blend, serve while warm.