The Glorious Chickpea

I should tell you I have a weakness for barbecue kettle chips.  I don't know where it came from all of a sudden, but I love them-- so much so, that I have to avoid buying them at all for fear that I won't be able to have portion control.  It's probably not a bad thing that I don't buy them, since potato chips aren't exactly nutritious.  But man, are they good.

So when I saw a recipe for roasted chickpeas, the wheels in my brain started turning.  I figured, just like tofu, they can take on any flavor you choose.  Well, I decided that I would make barbecue roasted chickpeas.  I took a can of drained chickpeas, threw them in a bag with olive oil and my BBQ3000 spice from Penzey's, shook it up for awhile so the oil and spices coated all the peas, then spread them out on a cookie sheet, and baked for about forty minutes on 375 degrees.  Some recipes say 25 to 30 minutes, but mine were definitely in there longer.  That's what you get for living in an old apartment: an old oven that takes twice as long.

Turns out, they don't taste anything like the kettle chips.  They actually don't taste anything like barbecue at all.  But they do taste good nonetheless, and they're a healthy snack.  And the difference with chips, is you can eat and eat and never feel full.  But these seasoned garbanzo beans are like little balls of protein and fiber that will fill you right up!  They're definitely a good alternative to chips, popcorn or other snacks.  They have a nice crunch to them like junk foods.  I've made roasted chickpeas before with an Asian blend of spices, and those were pretty tasty too.  You can really experiment with any sort of spice, or you can eat them plain with some sea salt if that's your forte.  Keep in mind that just because they're a legume and considered "healthy," it's probably not a good idea to snack on a whole can's worth of roasted chickpeas.  There are about 330 calories per can, which isn't bad, but that can add up if you're just snacking.