Roasted Chickpeas

Shopping at my favorite store, Costco, is always a journey of discovery. The store changes every time I visit. One week they will feature a 32-year supply of toilet paper for just $19.99 and the next week they will offer 600 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets for $1.99. The inventory is always changing at Costco, which is why I always find something new and different every time I go there.

Roasted chickpeas are one of my favorite snacks and Costco used to carry them....an 18 ounce bag would set you back $9.99. Chickpeas are high in protein, fiber and vitamins...owing to the fact that they are both a legume and a vegetable. But at almost $10 per pound, that's a pricey snack. But then I was strolling through Costco last Thursday and look what I stumbled upon:

Yep. Raw organic chickpeas. And get this....a 7-pound bag for just $9.99! I quick did the math on my iPhone and calculated that I could roast my own chickpeas for only $1.43 per pound.....a fraction of the cost of buying the finished product. So I bought a bag and headed home.

I climbed on the Interwebs and found an Alton Brown recipe that could not have been any easier. Soak your chickpeas in water overnight and then roast them for 60 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them dry in the heat for another hour. Pull them out of the oven and then I double-dare you to not eat all of them in one sitting.


Ingredients
2 pounds dried chickpeas
water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions

1. Put chickpeas in a large bowl and fill with enough water so that the top chickpeas are covered by 2" of water.
2. Drain chickpeas in a colander and rinse well. Dry the chickpeas with a few whirls in a salad spinner. Remove the chickpeas from the salad spinner onto a paper towel lined half sheet pan. Top with another layer of paper towels and roll and pat to dry further.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. Remove the paper towels from the sheet pan and toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and salt. Spread chickpeas on sheet pan and put in the oven. Bake the chickpeas for 60 minutes.
5. After 60 minutes, turn oven off but leave chickpeas to dry and crisp up for 30 minutes. Serve.

Pairing: Make a huge batch and serve it as an appetizer for the Super Bowl. So in this case, I would pair it with an ice cold pilsner!