Let me begin by stating I could probably live the rest of my life without ever eating another sweet. While I do enjoy them on occasion, they are not what I crave when I actually crave something. My downfall has always been salty/crunchy. And nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, satisfies that craving better than sitting down with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn drizzled with butter.
As for the Chickpeas, I’ve never been a fan. While they were meaty I also found them too pasty. Their texture was a total turn off to me and every recipe I come across that uses them I substitute a different bean, usually Cannellini. But the more I read the more I discovered that these crunchy, little, flavored nuggets were satisfying the cravings of my fellow popcorn fanatics, in a healthier way, so I knew I had to try them.
There are a bazillion different ways to flavor them but the main gist is to use 1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1/2 teaspoon salt per can of beans. After that, the flavoring possibilities are practically endless.
I did a lot of recipe reading before Mr. Foodie left town and settled on two flavor profiles. I then spent an entire Saturday afternoon and part of Sunday playing around with them. Sriracha with Lime and Wasabi (hoping to find something like Wasabi Peas). I ended up doing six different batches. Straight from the can, from the can but peeling each and every bean (based on one blogger’s preference) and marinating overnight. If you have anything close to Carpal Tunnel I DO NOT recommend peeling each and every bean. I don’t have the affliction but by the time I was done peeling an entire can of beans I was definitely ready for a pain pill…or a very stiff drink.
In the end, the Wasabi was a total failure no matter what I did. I was left with a bunch of black, burnt, balls with a bitter flavor that was totally inedible. As for peeling, the peas shrunk to about half their size and while they may have been a tad bit crunchier there was no noticeable difference in flavor. Save your wrists and finger tips. Peeling is unnecessary in my opinion. The same with marinating overnight. No noticeable difference in flavor, at least as far as the Sriracha is concerned. If you want some roasted chickpeas just open a can, drain them, rinse them, rub off any existing loose skins so they don’t burn, season and roast.
Period.
Ingredients:
- 1 can Chickpeas
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1-½ teaspoon Sriracha Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Lime Juice
- ½ teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Grated Lime Zest
Steps
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Zest the lime and set aside.
- Rinse and drain chickpeas. With a paper towel, pat dry and rub chickpeas to get off any loose skins.
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, Sriracha sauce, lime juice and sea salt. Add chickpeas to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Dump the chickpeas evenly on the pan.
- Place in the oven and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until crunchy.
- Remove from baking sheet to a bowl and sprinkle with reserved lime zest. Toss to coat and allow to cool.
- Once cool, store in a jar with a tight fitting lid.
So here’s my honest opinion.
My popcorn addiction runs too deep. It is firmly embedded in my DNA at this point. I’m not sure anything will ever come close to satiating that craving.
With that said, these are quite the tasty little buggers.
Not blow my mind, over the top but they are crunchy and quite tasty and I love the fact that I’m getting a little protein from them.
They are good for when you need a handful of something crunchy or as a salad topping in place of starchy croutons. I also wouldn’t hesitate to throw a bowl of these out at my next party.
I’ll do them again and will continue to experiment with different flavor profiles and report back!
0 comments