Making Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

This is way too early in my usual timeline to be posting about food, but this needed to be done because my grandmother is coming over (and you know you’re in for it, whatever it may be, when your father from another continent calls just to warn you that his mother is coming to visit) and I have nothing in the kitchen save for the staples (which explains the frequent use of basic flour dough in the recent posts). I told the house management team to go to the farmer’s market and take care of lunch while I cover the base and create a culinary diversion. I rummaged throughout and unearthed this can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas).

First thought: when did I buy this? (though I have a suspicion that it must’ve been from the time when I made Adin’s assorted dips foodwish). Second thought: Is this still safe to eat? Well, it’s canned, right? So I checked the expiry date and it still had a good solid year before expiration, but to be safe I opened it and checked the inside.

Ugh. Nasty.

But since nothing with tentacles or fungus as a head came jumping out, it was in the clear. The next thing to do would be to drain and rinse it with running water, because there’s no way that you’d put the gunk it came in into your mouth ~~least of all your grandmother’s~~.

And then pat it dry with a paper or tea towel.

Great. Now what?

Furiously search the inter-web for garbanzo/chickpea recipes, I say. I sifted through them and found one for roasted chickpeas. Now I’ve eaten roasted chickpeas before - but without knowing that it’s chickpeas. I mean, who would’ve thought that this heap of pale, bland beans - a celebrated symbol of healthy food, can become a pile of deliciousness; crunchy and slightly split on the outside while soft and buttery on the inside - with just the addition of a tablespoon of oil and a mix of spices?

Well now you do. And now you must try.

Note: I sometimes hate it when recipes say “put whatever you like” without also including what the writer puts in themselves - it just helps to give an indication as to what’s appropriate to be put in and not. So for this recipe, I’m going to include the list of spices I used.

ROASTED SPICED CHICKPEAS:

[ one 15-ounce can garbanzo beans + 1 tablespoons olive oil + salt + spice blend of your choice (I used a 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, chili powder, white & black pepper + 1 teaspoon of sugar) ]

Preheat oven to 400F.

PREP THE BEANS:

Drain the can of garbanzo beans in a strainer and rinse with water for a few seconds to clean off the beans. Shake and tap the strainer to rid of excess water.

Lay paper towl on a baking sheet, and spread the beans over. Use another paper towel to gently press and absorb the water on the beans.

Roll the beans around with the paper towel to also remove the thin skin from any of the beans. Discard the skins.

Drizzle the olive oil over the beans and use your hands or a spatula to toss around and coat.

Roast for 30-40 minutes until the beans are a deep golden brown and crunchy. Make sure that the beans do not burn.

Season with salt and spice blend.

You can serve it straightaway or set it aside for a while to let it dry a bit.

ROASTED SPICED CHICKPEAS:

[ one 15-ounce can garbanzo beans + 1 tablespoons olive oil + salt + spice blend of your choice (I used a 1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, chili powder, teaspoon white & black pepper + 1 teaspoon of sugar) ]

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F

Dain the beans and rinse with water to remove the starchy liquid.

Pat dry with a paper or tea towel. Discard any skins that came off.

Put the beans in a single layer on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss with a spatula to coat.

Roast for 30-40 minutes until beans are deep golden brown and crunchy on the outside - make sure it doesn’t burn.

Season with salt and spice blend.