Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Crunchy Spiced Chickpeas – Margaritas Sold Separately

There’s a Mexican joint Michele and I go to once in a while, that serves a complimentary bowl of spicy, fried chickpeas when you sit down to eat. In the restaurant biz they call this a “loss leader.”

That’s where you give away something cheap to help sell something expensive, and by something expensive, I mean handcrafted margaritas and artisan beers…sold to people like me, who, for some strange reason, are suddenly thirsty.

While I’m hip to the true motive, it’s still a very nice touch, and a periodic reminder of what a great, highly additive snack this is. As in, only make single batches at a time, because you will eat everything you make.

As I mentioned in the video, this works exactly the same using rinsed, canned beans, but dry beans are much cheaper, and get a little crunchier. Obviously, you have free reign with the spices, so I suggest making a few different batches, trying different combinations.

No matter what you come up with, it will be significantly better than any of those salty snacks from the supermarket. I hope you give these easy, oven-fried chickpeas a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 snack-sized portions Crunchy Spiced Chickpeas:
1 cup dry chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, soaked for 24 hours
2 tbsp olive oil
season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper, cumin, paprika, and cayenne, OR literally any spices you like

- Bake at 400 F. for about an hour, tossing occasionally, until browned and crunchy/crispy.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

There are other recipes for this that use the canned one and they all say to peal the chickpeas. Is this here different because we use the dried ones?

Nancy said...

Growing up, long ago, my father would call this recipe " Arbes" which I suspect is the Yiddish word for chick peas. I didn't like it as a kid but when a grown up, and serving drinks before dinner with friends, he reminded me to skip the chips and eat something healthy: arbes!

Unknown said...

I have to say, this video cracked me up. I loved it!

Joanne said...

I've done this before with cooked beans, but I'm curious to try it with soaked, uncooked beans. I always use dry beans for everything. Have you ever tried it with other types of beans?

Unknown said...

I'm gonna try and do these like the Wasabi peas I eat some times. Good deal!

Billy said...

Will this work well with other beans? I was thinking maybe black beans.

Unknown said...

I ate there last weekend! Fantastic carnitas, too!

Birder said...

What would be the quantity in terms of canned peas (once they've been drained/dried)?

Unknown said...

Chef Job,
Persian New Year is around the corner. A Persian recipe would be a great idea.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

This was a great idea. I went total Mexican with chipotle , cumin and ancho powders. It was great. I looked up the nutritional profile of chick peas and it seems they are dang near a super food. Good lookin' out Chef!

Unknown said...

I tried this recipe with someone curry powder and oh man where they good. Does anybody else think they taste like chicken? Seriously, mine came out tasting like kind of like fried chicken. Maybe that's where the name 'chick peas' came from? Anyways I really liked this recipe and I would definitely do this again.

Nise said...

I made these tonight and they were a big hit! Mine were seasoned with salt, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, and after they roasted I sprinkled them with garlic powder, more smoked paprika and a teeny pinch of sugar. Thanks Chef John!

unsafebet said...

I made an extra batch of dukkah (sans the nuts) for my spice blend to make these today and they turned out heavenly! Thanks for my new go-to snack, Chef John!

unsafebet said...

I made an extra batch of dukkah (sans the nuts) for my spice blend to make these today and they turned out heavenly! Thanks for my new go-to snack, Chef John!

Unknown said...

What would you recommend for an Italian style seasoning?

Anonymous said...

Chef John! HELP! :)
Ok that came out more dramatic than needed, but I've been soaking my chickpeas in water for 26 hours now and they are still kinda hard and not super plump like yours looked or how canned ones look. Also on the water there is the white foamy stuff is that normal ? Should I keep soaking them until they are plumper, or should I boil them in water before frying? Or am I just freaking out for no reason and they're good to go? Also I love these roasted/fried with no seasonjng and then tossed into honey cinnamon and dessicated coconut. :) Anyway thanks and keep the great work coming! :)) xx

Chef John said...

Sorry not sure! After soaking that long they should be fine. Cook them and see what happens. good luck!

xanderopoly said...

I also soaked for 24 hours. They were still pretty hard. Cooked them and they were burnt at 40 minutes. My guess is they weren't hydrated so they cooked quicker...perhaps? I'll give it another shot but not sure what I did wrong.

Unknown said...

Hey xanderopoly, try pulling them out/tossing them more frequently toward the end and go more by their color instead of time. Made them twice so far. Last batch took about 45 min. Pulled mine out & tossed at 15 min, then 15 min, then 8 min, 3 min, then removed 3 min later.
Thanks again Chef John!

Unknown said...

First attempt...too long...burnt to a crisp. Second attempt (6 weeks later) 20 min...shaka-shaka, 20 min...shaka-shaka, 10 min shaka-shaka, 10 min...perfecion. Crispy but not crunchy. Thanks Chef!

S/V Blondie-Dog said...

Greetings Chef! I'll has ya' knows dat' I be one of those peoples that has me a pantry full of every kind of dried beans there be. So it be good thing dat' ya' done shown dis' here feller' hows to make these snackies. And believes you me when I done tells' ya' dat' even my finicky lady-friend done liked em' a lot! Thanks! You're da' best!

SoozieQZ said...

I followed your recipe except I thought you said overnight soak. So after 15 hours I made the recipe. Mine were inedible. SO hard! Afraid I would lose a tooth. :D...So I am guessing the soak time of 24 hours is critical. Next time I will use canned beans. I tried a similar recipe for black-eyed peas. Worked beautifully. Thanks, I still like you. :D SoozieQZ

SoozieQZ said...

Mine also turned out hard as rocks. Soaked and followed recipe to a T. Will try with canned peas next time. But I regret all that time spent stirring and watching these things. I know they are worth it because I have tried similar recipes with canned black-eyed peas and they were scrumptious. Win some lose some. Thanks anyway.

sjune said...

Do we soak in the fridge or just on the countertop? I soaked mine for 24 hours, and it looked gassy with a lot of white foam on top of the liquid... Is it still safe to use these chickpeas?

The chickpeas expanded so much, liquid flowed out of my container!

Unknown said...

Agree with sjune's question. Do we soak them on the counter or do we soak them in the fridge? I've never cooked with chickpeas before and would love to try this.

Dani B said...

I have tried your soaking and roasting uncooked dried chickpeas. For some reason, they are popping off of my sheetpan in my oven like popcorn. Any suggestions as to why?