Roasted chickpea 'croutons'

I had come across numerous recipes for roasted chickpeas but I’d never had a go myself until now.  The principle is so simple…..get your cooked chickpeas (I cook mine from dried in big batches and then freeze them until needed), add seasoning, roast until crisp and golden.

The perfect alternative to popcorn for a night in with a DVD, a handy snack alternative to roasted nuts or even sprinkled over a salad for a crispy bite offering a GF alternative to crispy bread croutons.   You can vary the seasonings as you wish. I went for an Indian theme for my first batch and then through in a few Italian spices and a little tomato paste for a lovely crunchy salad topper. I would really recommend the salad topper as a really quirky alternative to croutons as the texture is great!

The chickpeas will keep for a few days if stored in an airtight container so you’ll have plenty of snack options to hand. I haven’t yet tried freezing these but I imagine that would also work well.

The spice combinations below are just examples of what I went for so feel free to through in whatever you choose!

Recipe: Roasted chickpea Croutons

Makes one bowl

Ingredients Indian:

• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tbs ground flax or chia seeds
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs red palm oil or olive oil
• 1 tsp agave nectar (optional)
• 200g cooked drained chickpeas

Ingredients Italian:

• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tbs ground flax or chia seeds
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs red palm oil or olive oil
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 200g cooked drained chickpeas

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C. In a medium bowl all the ingredients and mix well adding the chickpeas last.

Place the seasoned chickpeas in a single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking shee. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy.