Roasty, Toasty Chi Chi Beans

Chi Chi Beans (Roasted Chickpeas)

What is in a name? Most often, a story.

When she was 5 or so, my former roommate Kelly used to eat her cereal with coffee creamer instead of milk. While I personally wouldn’t recommend that combination of food (then again… cinnamon toast crunch with french vanilla creamer sounds disgustingly decadent) I do enjoy using her childhood nickname for Chickpeas (née Garbanzo Beans) (née the bean of many names). She called chickpeas “chi chi” beans. So, here on out, this protein rich staple will be called “chi chi” beans. But don’t worry, I wont be sharing my Chi Chi bean snickerdoodle cookie recipe just yet… It’s not quite up to par. Or as my test subject and dear friend Jenna would say, “um. Ew.”

If you can roast chickpeas without burning them, they become a wonderful snack. I’ve made a few different variations over the years with varying degrees of success due to oven temperature/patience, or lack thereof. Today, I made a simple  roasted garlic and paprika chickpea intended as a garnish for my rainbow kale salad.

Roasted Garlic Chickpeas

Roasted Chi Chi Beans
Serves 3-4

1 (15.5 ounce) can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (you can also use dried beans instead of canned. The texture will be crisper)
1 tsp  fresh or refrigerated garlic, minced (about one clove)
1 tblsp Olive Oil
Dash of Paprika (Or in my case an abrupt shake of Paprika over the pan)
Salt (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degree F. *
2. Drain chickpeas and blot with a paper towel to dry them.
3. Mince clove of garlic.
4. In bowl or on baking sheet, toss chickpeas with olive oil, garlic, and paprika.
5. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. Bake in 10 minute intervals, stirring every 10 minutes, for 30 to 40 minutes. My oven runs hot and I only baked for about 25 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

*Part of me wonders if this wouldn’t be better accomplished (Read: less likely to burn) using the “low and slow” theory of baking at 275 for an hour to two hours. But really, who has the time?

Nutrition: Roughly 110 Calories

•                     6 Grams of Protein
•                     6 Grams of Fiber

Seasoning Variations/Mix ins:

• 1/4 cup (or more) of parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 1 tblsp. Brown Sugar; 1 tsp. cinnamon; 1 tblsp. honey
• Italian Seasoning
• Red Pepper Flakes

Inspiration:

• Kelly and her “Chi Chi” Beans

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