The Humble, But Beloved Chickpea

Dave and I love chickpeas-in salads, soups, burgers, just about any way at all. Here are some recent chickpea delights. Top photo - crunchy paprika chickpeas. The recipe is from Martha Stewart.

2 cans of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
3 tablespoon of olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon hot or sweet paprika

Put chickpeas in a roasting pan and coat with oil. Bake in a preheated 450F oven until brown and crispy, about 35-40 minutes. When I made these I cooked them less because I prefer them still a bit tender. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and paprika. Roast 2-3 minutes more. Cool on paper towels. These were so yummy I squirreled them away so I didn't have to share with Dave. He'd rather eat cake anyway.

I made a basic pasta alfredo, see: http://www.veggienumnums.com/2009/01/penne-alfredo.html and I added 1 can of drained rinsed chickpeas at the same time I added the cheese.

Falafel wraps: Falafels, with radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, and ranch dressing (for Dave), on a flour tortilla. We both love falafels and these wraps are great to make ahead and keep in the fridge. Falafels are usually fried, but I prefer to bake them at 350F, just until they get cooked through. You can make falafels from scratch. Basically, it's chickpeas, a bit of flour, and seasonings, or, you can do as I did and start with a mix. The health food store we go to has this great falafel mix with a really nice mix of spices. All I have to do is add water, form the balls and bake them.

Viva the chickpea!