For homemade snacks that really showcase their seasonings, reach for a bag or can of beans. Cooked chickpeas, when roasted until crunchy, have a neutral, almost chalky taste if unadorned. But toss them with spices and they become irresistible munchies.
I’ve tested various ways to roast chickpeas, lentils and other beans for snacks, from a barely oiled stovetop skillet to one with so much oil that the legumes are almost deep-fried. I’m happiest with minimal oil and a slow bake in a low-temperature oven. One the stovetop, the oil becomes foamy, the beans can splatter messily and the final flavor has a heavily oiled taste. In the oven, the oil simply helps the seasonings stick to the beans.
The oil also helps the seasonings “bloom,” a technique I’ll be sharing this weekend in my Seeds of Flavor workshop for Free the Seeds. The free, daylong event is celebrating its 10th year with a special keynote speaker, seed giveaway, workshops, booths and more on March 1 at Flathead Valley Community College. I love teaching at this event and am excited to be part of the 10-year festivities.
The recipe I share here uses just a couple of spices, but as I’ll show in my Seeds of Flavor workshop, you can go bigger with a homemade smoky spice rub – and even include homegrown seeds, herbs and aromatics. In the workshop, I’ll talk about the spices I save from my garden, what I look for when buying spices and how I use them in my kitchen.
You’ll also learn how to get the most flavor from spices for snacks like these baked chickpeas. I’ll demonstrate how to toast, grind and bloom a spice blend, and we’ll sample the results.
I hope you can join me and spend the day attending the dozens of other workshops being offered. This year, they range from gardening techniques and soil troubleshooting, to big-picture discussions about growing food amid climate and technology changes, to keeping bees and making pasta. Get the full details at landtohandmt.org.
Zesty Baked Chickpea Snacks
Makes about 1-3/4 cups
2 cups (or 1 15-ounce can) cooked chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
On a tea towel opened across a cooling rack, spread the chickpeas in a single layer. Let them dry for at least 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, toss the chickpeas with the oil, lime zest, cumin and paprika, plus salt and pepper to taste. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper, and then spread the chickpeas in a single layer in the pan.
Bake at 350°F for 30 to 45 minutes, until the chickpeas are crisp. After the first 20 minutes, stir the chickpeas occasionally so that they cook evenly and test for crispness. When crunchy, let the chickpeas cool for a few minutes and then eat while warm or at room temperature.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.