A wonderful, crunchy, and aromatic snack for any occasion are baked chickpeas. Popcorn or chips, which are popular but less healthful, can be successfully substituted.
Ingredients:
- 240 g cooked chickpeas* – 400 g can
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite olive oil
- Spices: 1/3 flat teaspoon of sweet paprika; a good pinch of chili, pepper, and salt; a small pinch of cumin
- Fresh herbs of your choice: parsley, thyme, rosemary, coriander
Baked chickpeas
The recipe calls for either canned or soaked and cooked dry chickpeas. To get about 240 grams of cooked chickpeas, use one 400-gram can of chickpeas. To get 400 grams of cooked chickpeas from dry chickpeas, use about 100-105 grams of dry chickpeas, which will need to be soaked and cooked beforehand—more on that in a moment. The calorie count is approximate because it is based on the ingredients I used; therefore, it may differ from mine. With the ingredients listed, I was able to obtain approximately 120 grams of roasted chickpeas. Yes, because so much water evaporates from the chickpeas while baking, the weight is always lower.
Baked chickpeas recipe
If you choose to use canned chickpeas, all you have to do is drain 240 grams (or one 400-gram can) of the beans.
Dry chickpeas: You need roughly 100–105 grams of dry chickpeas to make 240 grams of cooked chickpeas. Cover it with cold, boiled or filtered water the day before. All you need is roughly 250 milliliters of water in a glass. To avoid the chickpeas fermenting, however, do not soak them for more than 12 hours (particularly if the room temperature is more than 19 degrees). Chickpeas will swell as a result of absorbing a lot of water. After rinsing the chickpeas and discarding the soaking water, put them in a pot. After adding 250 ml of water, bring the mixture to a boil with the chickpeas. Lower the power until the entire device is flashing very slightly, then cook the chickpeas, covered, until they are tender, which should take around 80 minutes (but occasionally it takes only an hour). After the first ten minutes of cooking, a lot of foam will most likely be visible on top. After removing the foam, simmer the chickpeas further. Using a sieve, remove the soft chickpeas and leave them to cool.
Therefore, you have two options: soak and cook dry chickpeas yourself, or use canned chickpeas, which are ready to use after draining. 240 grams of ready-to-eat chickpeas should first be dried on a paper towel before being placed in a different bowl.
Toss in a tablespoon of your preferred olive oil or other frying vegetable oil into the bowl with the dried chickpeas. Add the spice powder as well: A small pinch of cumin (cumin) is added after a huge pinch of chile, pepper, and salt. One-third flat teaspoon of sweet pepper is used. Stir everything well.
First tip: I do not advise adding fresh or dried herbs since they may brown excessively if the chickpeas are roasted for an extended period of time. Better still, use powdered spices. You can always add herbs right away after taking the roasted chickpeas out of the oven.
Tip 2: You can easily sprinkle your chickpeas with something other than my spice combination, such a teaspoon of pre-made curry powder or maybe some kebab gyros powder.
Set the oven’s temperature to 190 degrees for convection baking or 200–205 degrees for top/bottom baking.
Use a piece of baking paper to line a thin baking pan or an oven drawer. On parchment paper, toss chickpeas with spices and olive oil. Scatter the chickpeas so the balls come into contact with one another only. On the other hand, stacking them on top of one another will prevent them from roasting and crisping. Put the chickpea-filled baking dish on the oven’s center rack. Bake for twenty-five minutes, or perhaps a little bit longer, the chickpeas. Every five minutes, I suggest cautiously opening the oven door and tossing the chickpeas, as the edges tend to brown more quickly.
Additionally, watch the chickpeas to prevent over-browning. As every oven heats up differently, turn down the heat as needed. Your chickpeas may need to be stirred more frequently or the oven may be too hot if they “explode”.
You may take the roasted chickpeas out of the oven right away. It should be completely crispy after cooling. It is worthwhile to add some freshly chopped herbs to it. I suggest using parsley, thyme, rosemary, or coriander.
Pan-roasted chickpeas:
Heat a dry frying pan with a thick bottom slowly. Add a little olive oil and spice to the chickpeas. Roast it for at least ten minutes over low heat in a frying pan. Keep a close eye on the chickpea balls and stir them around in the pan at least once every two minutes. You have to evaluate if it’s nicely roasted or not.
A delicious snack to have, say, while watching a movie, is baked chickpeas. It can also be sprinkled on a variety of salads. It will work wonderfully as an edible garnish for cream soups and spreads. It keeps well for many days in the refrigerator when kept in a glass jar with a lid. It won’t be as crispy, but it will still taste great. Alternatively, you can store it in a paper lunch bag for the next day.
Savor your food.
