Spicy Roasted Chickpea Nibbles

While perusing my copy of Ashley Miller's "The Bean Harvest Cookbook" (Newtown, CT: Taunton Press, 1998), I came upon her recipe for Chickpea Munchies, roasted cooked chickpeas spiced up with garlic and curry powder. I was looking for a little nibble for my hubby and I to sip wine with, so I switched around the spices, threw in some leftover cooked rice and used canned cooked chickpeas instead of the home-cooked dried chickpeas called for in Miller's version and they turned out splendidly. My hand was little too generous with the garam masala, so we were sucking down liquid refreshment at a rapid rate (an old bartender's trick is set out salty and spicy snacks to encourage more drink orders), so do take care. Especially if you're buying.



The result is a lovely cocktail snack, CRISPY on the outside and softly mushy on the inside. Don't worry about the skins of the chickpeas sloughing off when you stir them around; these skins take on a nice crunch when they are baked and add to the texture of the overall mix.

The Nibbles were great warm out of the oven and Dan spent a few days snacking on them cold. I stored them in an airtight container when they cooled and they survived nicely at room temperature. Here's my adapted version of Miller's great recipe:

Spicy Roasted Chick Pea Nibbles

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. garam masala (or your favorite curry powder blend)
1 cup cooked white rice
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in frying pan. Add minced garlic and, stirring constantly, cook 1 minute. Add garam masala and stir another 1-2 minutes. Add chickpeas and cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring.

Turn out into a 9x12 glass baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir and add in cooked rice. Bake another 15-20 minutes, or until nibbles are at the desired peak of crunchiness. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes about 2-1/2 cups of nibbles.

After I made these nibbles, I researched some other ways to roast one's chickpeas and found these other recipes which I intend to try soon:

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with Moroccan Spices from Kalyn's Kitchen

Roasted Wasabi Chickpeas from About.com (make sure wasabi powder is wheat-free)

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas from Rosa's Yummy Yums

Amazing Toasted Mixed Nuts from The W.H.O.L.E. Gang

This ode to the Roasted Chickpea post seems the perfect submission for My Legume Love Affair, a monthly blog event that celebrates the legume in all its glorious variations and is the brainchild of Susan over at The Well-Seasoned Cook. The current round of MLLA is being hosted by Annarasa. You can join in the fun with a leguminous post by the deadline or wait to catch Annarasa's roundup after the June 30 deadline.