Crunchy Greek Chick Peas

A few posts back, *see GREEK GRILL, I featured some Crunchy Chick Peas that pleasantly complimented my Greek take on burgers and fries.

These little gems also make a great protein packed snack.

The Chick Pea or Garbanzo Bean is a legume super food.
High in fiber, low in fat, these golden round beauties actually have blood sugar regulating properties! They're also a good source of antioxidants and give great digestive support. In some studies, people who ate small amounts of garbanzo beans daily, noticed significantly lessened appetites overall.

Well, I'm sure I could go on and on about the multitude of health benefits of the Chick Pea, but what about the taste?

Chick Peas have a unique and pleasantly "nutty" flavor. they're mild and buttery but, they are one of those foods that some people hate because of their slightly mushy interior texture.
In this recipe that texture is transformed into a lovely crunch. Every bite packs a punch of flavor and crisp nutty goodness.

So, as promised, here's the "how to".


Ingredients:

25 oz can of Organic Garbanzo Beans
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Marjoram
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
*1/4 tsp cayenne* (optional)
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
2 cloves Garlic - crushed or finely minced
Lemon Zest from 2 lemons - divided
Olive Oil -  just enough

Drain the Chick Peas ~ Give them a good rinse to remove excess sodium. 


Now dry them! 

It's important that they are really dry. So get a towel, dump them on it, cover them over and gently roll them around to dry. As you do this, you'll notice the "garbanzo skins" will start to come off. This is what you want. It's not that the skins are bad, it's just that like our own skin, they hold moisture so the more of them that come off the quicker the crispy - crunchy effect will happen.


Preheat your oven to 400.  

Make the spice mixture ~ In a bowl, stir together all the herbs and spices plus the zest of 1 lemon.
Put the Chick Peas in the bowl with the spices and give a quick toss. Not much will stick to them because you did such a great job with the drying process! 

Slowly dreeezzle just enough olive oil to make the spices stick.

Transfer to a baking sheet ~ make sure they are arranged in a single layer. Now pop them in the oven. Set the timer for 8 minutes. Turn (or roll) the Chick Peas and reset the timer for another 8 minutes. Continue to do this, checking and rolling every 8 min. until they're crisp and crunchy. It should take 20-30 minutes. Remove when crisp and sprinkle with remaining zest.  

These yummy ~ salty ~ crispy ~ crunchy garbanzos are great as is.
OR try them instead of a crouton on a salad or in soup. Sprinkle them on top of a stir fry OR stir them into cooked rice or quinoa ... that is, if there are any left.  (~just make a triple batch!)


* Get creative.. It's surprising how versatile the chick pea can be. 
Try using sesame oil and sesame seeds in the spice mix, OR a bit of cardamon, cinnamon and sugar for a dessert mix OR maybe an Italian blend with red pepper flakes, rosemary and parmesan.
The possibilities are endless.