Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas

Hubby Tony and I have been trying to eat more 'whole' foods, including snacks.  One of my new afternoon nibbles is roasted chickpeas.  They're a healthy, easy, grab and go snack

There's two places near me where I can buy the pre-roasted beans.  A Middle Eastern market five minutes from my house is more convenient, but the brand of roasted chickpeas they carry are dry and mealy. The large global store a couple cities to the east has a vastly superior-tasting brand, but it's 20 minutes from my house and I don't get there on a regular basis.

I didn't think about a third option of making my own until last week when I had to bring some type of snack to an event on Thursday and again on Friday.  It made sense to bring something Tony and I would enjoy eating, so for inspiration I looked at several recipes.  They all seemed easy enough--toss the beans with a little oil and some spices, then roast until crunchy.

I roasted two batches. The first I baked for 40 minutes but didn't watch them carefully, and a third of the beans burned.  I tasted the ones that weren't too overcooked and thought they were a little oily, so the second time I cut the oil in half and baked them for 35 minutes.  They were better than the first batch, but not as crunchy as the store-bought beans.  I let them cool off, then put them back in the oven for five more minutes to crisp some more.  Bingo!  The beans were the perfect combination of crunch and spice.

Based on the compliments I got on the dish at both events I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and thoroughly dried (or 2 15-ounce cans)

• 1 T olive oil (note-the original recipe called for 2T, but I thought that made the finished product too oily.)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients until coated. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 30-40 minutes.  Stir several times during the baking period.

(Optional) For crisper beans, let pan cool, then return to oven for 3-5 minutes more.

Five years ago today: Creature Comforts