Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted chickpeas are no news to the foodie world. However, my first few attempts were disastrous. I tried them several times, with canned and home-cooked chickpeas. And ended up with some chewy, rubber-like and by no means crunchy balls. Simply because I didn't roast them long enough. A few recipes in the Internet call for 20 minutes roasting time. I must have seen only these recipes and couldn't quite figure out what went wrong. As I never had roasted chickpeas before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But chewy didn't feel right, it tasted horrible.

Fast forward a year or so: by coincidence I came across a recipe for roasted chickpeas that call for 40-50 minutes roasting time. Now we are talking. My first few attempts were huge hits with my family, each batch was munched up within a very short time. The seasoning can be any combination of herbs and spices. For now, spicy  is our favorite. A hearty combination of cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. A no-guilt snack that munches away as quickly as crisps.
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SPICY ROASTED CHICKPEAS

(Print Recipe)

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Serves 6
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Preheat oven to 180C/375F.

Spread the cooked chickpeas on a kitchen or paper towel and pat dry.
Combine spices and salt in a small bowl. Coat chickpeas with olive oil, then sprinkle spice mix over them. Toss until evenly coated.

Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until crunchy and no longer soft inside. Let cool. Ready to serve.