Roasted Chickpeas

If your on a strict diet, you can probably relate to how difficult it is to find handy snack foods. Once upon a time, we found some roasted chickpeas at an International foods store and I thought, "Hey, I can make these" (and at the same time avoid the vegetable oil that seems to be on everything).

As you probably know by now I don't measure and lot of things.

Soak some chickpeas overnight (12-24 hours). Remember they will expand, and believe me if your soaking container isn't large enough, the water will spill over!

Rinse the soaked chickpeas. Spread on a baking pan (either stainless steel, stone, or glass if you have). Bake at 350 F, stirring every 5 min. (This is a big time consumer watching them). If you bake them at too hot a temperature, they will start popping, or at least mine do. This takes about 45 min, but it really depends on your oven - and the weather. I find it takes much longer here in Tasmania as it is so humid, (as compared to Winnipeg).

Prepare in a bowl;
approx 1 Tbsp water
approx 2 Tbsp Braggs

and/or add peanut butter for fun/variety

When they are almost done, (And sometimes I make them more crunchy, or more soft) take them out and mix with the prepared sauce. Sprinkle like crazy with Herbamare and whatever seasoning you like. I like to mix it up a lot. Sometimes a curry/garlic theme, or other times more Italian. Mrs. Dash was a great option for flavour (no MSG).

Spread on the sheet again and bake until desired crunchiness. I find that they will get a bit more crunchy after they are taken out of the oven.

Store in airtight containers. In Canada I would keep them in the cupboard, but I am having problems here in Tasmania. They seem to soak up the moisture and go soggy, so I have to eat them right away. That really isn't a problem, as they usually go so fast anyway, it's just hard to make ahead for future use.

Enjoy!