Smoky Roasted Chickpeas
Let me start by saying that both “smoky” and “smokey” look wrong to me, but apparently both are fine. Pick the one you like and imagine I used that spelling.
This is an absolutely addictive little snack that will help you swear off of chips. I ate almost half of the batch and stopped only due to the nagging feeling that eating a whole can of beans was a bad long-range plan. There are many recipes out there for variations on this theme, but my favorite step-by-step process is described at Steamy Kitchen. The beans will lose moisture and shrink as they crisp up, and I prefer to leave the outer skins on as much as possible because they become these crispy little bits that are the tastiest part.
The spice mix I used for my batch was salty/smokey/and slightly sweet, and I think the cinnamon really makes it. You can mix and match spices as you like, of course, but if you want a smokey flavor the smoked paprika and chipotle will add that. Here is the recipe:
Smoky Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
Instructions
- Dry the rinsed chickpeas on paper towels–you want to remove as much excess moisture as possible to get them crispy.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I have a convection oven, so I went with 350 degrees. Toss the dried chickpeas with the olive oil and spread them out on a cookie sheet with a raised edge, or in a baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until they start to sound like marbles when they roll around the pan (they should be smaller in size and darker in color).
- Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the seasonings evenly over the top. I stir all of the seasoning together first and then sprinkle. Toss the hot chickpeas around until they are coated in the spice mixture. Cool in the pan for about ten minutes, then chomp away.
