Roasted Chick Peas

I have another recipe for you today involving chick peas. I went to Costco recently and stocked up on a bunch. I hope you tried my version of hummus from last week. This next one is so super easy you just HAVE TO make it!

I first heard of roasting chick peas years ago from my friend Karen. I don't remember exactly how the original version went because I've experimented throughout the years. This is the one I make most often. My girls just love it!!

This is what we start off with:

a can of chick peas, extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. See, doesn't it sound so easy already?

I use a square Pyrex dish just because it seems to be a good size for one can - I'm guessing it's an 8 X 8 pan. Open the can of chick peas and drain as much of the liquid as possible and pour the chick peas into the pan.

Pour some olive oil over the chick peas. I usually never measure, but for today I wanted to give you some idea, so I used about 5 tablespoons. But you can pretty much eyeball it. You just don't want them to be swimming in the oil. That would definitely be too much!

Next I sprinkle on some garlic powder - enough to cover the top

then goes the paprika - same deal - enough to pretty much cover the top

Next goes the cracked black pepper. I just put a little because my girls don't like pepper. If I were going to make it for myself, I would definitely put more and I would even use some cayenne pepper as well.

It may look a bit dry at this point

so mix it all around so each chick pea is covered by the oil and the seasonings.

Are you ready for this? That's it!! The prep is done! Put the pan in an oven at 400 degree for 55 minutes. I check them every 15 minutes or so just to mix them around a bit and to check to see how brown they are getting. In this house, we like them extra crunchy so for the last couple of minutes I put it under the broiler - just to get that extra crisp, but they are definitely done before that.

Look how good they look all hot and bubbly from the oven. Mmmm...can you smell it? The scent of garlic is just so amazing!

Look here at the before and after...

they go from plain and naked to...to...to...INSANELY DELICIOUS!!!!

I think we need a closeup of this one

Scoop them out into a bowl

and they're ready to snack on. Makes a great snack, side dish or topping for your salad.

Just try and experiment and use any seasonings that you like. Let me know how it goes!

Roasted Chick Peas

Ingredients:
1 can chick peas - I used a 15.5 oz can
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder
paprika
freshly ground black pepper

1 - drain liquid from chick peas and pour in pan
2 - pour on the olive oil
3 - sprinkle garlic powder to cover
4 - sprinkle paprika to cover
5 - freshly ground black pepper - as little or as much as you like
6 - mix all together
7 - place pan in a 400 degree oven for 55 minutes checking every 15 minutes to mix and to see how brown they are gtting
8 - optional - put under broiler for 2 minutes


Next week I'll have a delicious recipe for Moroccan chick pea soup. I'm telling you, you will definitely thank me for that one!

MY Version of Hummus

I was so in the mood for hummus this weekend. When I was out doing errands I picked up some pita bread to go with the hummus that I THOUGHT we still had in our fridge. When I got home I was soooo disappointed to find out THERE WAS NO HUMMUS LEFT!!!! No one even bothered to tell me! What was I going to do with all this pita I just bought?!? Well, even though I was feeling totally lazy, I decided to just make it myself.

Now I have to preface by saying, this is MY VERSION of hummus! For all you purists out there, you may not want this recipe since it does NOT include tahini. That's right, you heard me, NO TAHINI!!! I'm just not a fan. As my Israeli brother-in-law Omer likes to point out, without tahini, he says its just plain ol' chick pea spread. Call it what you want. I'm calling it hummus.

So here goes. This is what you'll need:

Chick peas, of course

Parsley - please use the flat leaf Italian kind - much better than the curly version. Be careful though. They always seem to put it right next to the Cilantro that happens to look exactly like the parssley. Why do they do that?!?

Lemon - for the lemon juice. DON'T use the bottled kind. Ick!!

One garlic clove

EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, and salt and pepper.

(I didn't show the salt and pepper - didn't think I really had to)

Get your food processor out, open the can of chick peas, drain off the liquid and just dump it in the machine.

Next get a handful of parsley, wash it and take out as much of the stems as possible. Also pat the leaves dry with a paper towel. In they go.

Cut the garlic clove up into a few pieces

then they go in next.

Cut your lemon in half, pick out the obvious pits and squeeze the juice right in. I only used half a lemon this time.

Salt and pepper go next with a bit of olive oil. Just start with a small amount - maybe a teaspoonful.

Press the On button or pulse it a few times. It will start to come together but will be a bit dry.

This is where you start to pour more olive oil in while the machine is still going.

Stop when you like the consistency. I like mine smooth and creamy but not drippy. I added a bit of paprika and then whizzed it up again for a second or two.

That's it! Wasn't that easy?!? Now, if you're trying to impress, (or if you need to take some photos for your blog) you can put it into a nice bowl, place the bowl on a plate, cut up the pita into fourths and arrange it all nicey nice.

Or, you can do what I would normally do and put it in a plastic food container, eat it, put the leftovers in the fridge and be happy you have that many less dishes to do. Your choice.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it sans tahini.

My Version of Hummus

1 15.5 oz can of chick peas (I like Goya)
1 garlic clove
handful of fresh cleaned parsley leaves
juice of half a lemon
extra virgin olive oil
paprika (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

1 - Prep: drain the chick peas, rinse & dry the parsley, cut the lemon in half and take out pits, cut the garlic into a few pieces

2 - put chick peas, parsley, garlic salt, pepper, and lemon juice into food processor with 1 teaspoon olive oil.

3 - mix together

4 - add more olive oil to get to a smooth consistency- pour it in slowly as the machine is till mixing.

5 - add paprika and mix again for a couple of seconds

6 - Cut up pita. Spread on pita. Eat.