Just a little nibble, made with a can of chickpeas. But it is so much more!
When you want a healthy nibble to satisfy your salty savoury tooth, look no further than these flavour packed roasted chickpeas. And while I could probably eat the entire recipe in one sitting, they are quite versatile. Along with being a great snack or appetizer, sprinkle them into Greek (or any) salad, add them to roast veggies, use them as a garnish to soup, Middle Eastern bowls, or chilli, serve with savoury yogurt and eggs (see my Çilbir, or Turkish Eggs recipe), or add them to a Kawarma meat over hummus dish, like pictured here.
What you will Need
Chickpeas, a can drained and rinsed. One can will make about one cup of roasted chickpeas. If you want more, double the recipe. You may need two baking sheets.
Dukkah spice blend, a Egyptian inspired bold and vibrant blend of spices, ground almonds and seeds. You will need blanched almonds, sesame seeds, nigella seeds (or black sesame seeds) cumin seeds, celery seeds, coriander seeds, onion flakes or powder, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. See my classic Dukkah recipe, here. There is also a version in my Cookbook.
Olive oil, paper towel and a baking sheet.
Method
You can blend the Dukkah spice blend ahead of time and store in the fridge till needed. It can also be stored long term in the freezer.
Lay out the chickpeas on paper towel, and dry well. While patting dry with the paper towel, brush away any loose or separated skins from the chickpeas. Dry completely. Then they will be spread out on a lightly sprayed baking sheet and put into the oven for 15 minutes. Then you will toss the chickpeas with some of the Dukkah spice blend. Back into the oven again. Bring out after 15 minutes and stir around to ensure that they are roasting and drying evenly. After 10 minutes, check to see if they are crisping up. If not (depending on your oven, and how well they were dried in the beginning) roast a bit longer till crisped to your desired texture.
Then allow them to stay in the oven with the door open to help they continue to dry out and crisp up.
From here they can be eaten. They are best served warm, on salads, in pasta, over soup or chilli, etc. Or just on their own.
How to Re-Crisp These Roasted Chickpeas
These chickpeas will last in a partially sealed jar or container for up to four days (but will they really last that long?!) But you will find, when you remove the lid, that the chickpeas aren’t as crisp as they were when you removed them from the oven. No worries, just lay them out flat on a baking sheet and re-heat in 325F for 3-5 minutes to re-crisp them perfectly.
These are a healthy snack or addition to any lunch or dinner, or even breakfast. Chickpeas, like all legumes are high in fibre and nutrients, have protein, can aid in digestion, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Using this brilliant Dukkah Spice Blend adds bold flavour with a slight heat to the chickpeas. The remaining Dukkah blend can be served as an appetizer, used to flavour vegetables, meats, or even sprinkled on eggs, flatbreads etc. Here’s my Yogurt Flatbread recipe!
If you make these bold and crispy Dukkah Roasted Chickpeas, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.
Love Jen
Below I am showing it combined with my Hummus Kawarma, Greek Feta Stuffed Meatballs, Horiatiki Salad, and Jeera Rice.
Dukkah Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed, see Notes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Dukkah Spice Blend, make in advance
- 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp celery seeds or mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp onion flakes or powder
- 4 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil or avocado oil, or cooking spray.
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Lay out the chickpeas on a tea towel or paper-towel lined baking sheet and pat dry. If needed, replace wet towels with fresh ones so that the chickpeas aren't sitting on damp paper towel. While gently rubbing dry, remove any loose or separated skins, Let the chickpeas dry on the paper towels for 15 minutes or so.
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Have the Dukkah Blend ready before the chickpeas go into the oven.
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Transfer the thoroughly dried chickpeas to the prepared baking sheet.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes as is, without any oil or spices.
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After 15 minutes, remove the chickpeas from the oven and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over the chickpeas, stirring with a spoon until evenly coated. If necessary, slowly add a touch more olive oil until all the chickpeas are lightly coated.
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Once the chickpeas are coated in oil, Sprinkle 1 tbsp of the Dukkah spice mixture over the chickpeas and stir or shake the baking sheet until evenly distributed.
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Bake at 400 for 10 additional minutes, then remove from the oven and stir the chickpeas to ensure even roasting and drying.
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Return the stirred chickpeas to the oven and bake them for an additional 5-10 minutes, until desired crispiness is achieved.
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Turn off oven and open the oven door so it's slightly ajar. Let the chickpeas cool in the oven to achieve maximum crispiness.
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They are best served warm, but you can store them:
Store in a partially sealed container for up to four days. Don't completely close the jar, allow air and moisture to escape. To re-crisp, spread out the chickpeas onto a baking sheet and place in a 350F oven for a few minutes till crisp again.
Dukkah Spice Blend, make in advance
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Preheat oven to 350F.
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Spread out the almonds on a baking sheet. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until they are just starting to turn golden brown and become fragrant. Let cool completely.
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Alternatively, toast them in a skillet over medium heat till golden, about 5 minutes- watch closely. Cool completely.
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In a dry skillet, toast the turmeric and all the seeds over med to med-high heat, until just fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
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Place the almonds into a mortar and pestle. Crush as small as possible. (Alternatively you may use a food processor or food chopper, but do not let the nuts grind down too fine, and release any oils)
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Stop once the almonds are small (you want them small enough to cling to the olive oiled bread if you are using it as a dip, too large of pieces may fall off) Place these into a bowl.
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Add the toasted, cooled seeds to the mortar and pestle. Add the remaining onion flakes or powder, chilli powder and both peppers. Pound well with the pestle until everything is well blended. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your mortar and pestle.
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Taste to ensure you like it. You may add a bit of salt, as I hold back from over salting at the beginning.
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Store in a sealed container in the fridge for a few weeks, or store in the freezer and take out as you need it.
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See Blog post for more serving suggestions.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to halve the Dukkah recipe if you so desire. However, it is handy to have on hand, and keeps well in a sealed container in the freezer.
Feel free to double the Chickpea portion of the recipe, this will give you two cups of roasted chickpeas. Use two baking sheets, so that the chickpeas will not be crowded when roasting in the oven.
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