Wednesday, 17 September 2008

Chickpea nibbles.

I have no idea if I read this somewhere years ago or not, but one night I was looking for inspiration for an interesting nibble to serve some Veggie friends and two tins inspired this. It might look complicated and a bit frightening but it is easy as anything.

Spicy Paprika Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 tin of chickpeas
Smoked paprika and Maldon sea salt to taste.

* Take a tin of chickpeas and rinse and drain THOROUGHLY letting them dry out by leaving them out for a while or by patting them with kitchen towel. I know you can soak your own, but honestly who has the patience?

* Heat a tiny amount of very good olive oil in a non-stick pan. You really only want enough to stop the chickpeas sticking and if you really trust your pans I guess you could forego this step altogether.

* Add the chickpeas. This is where you will find out if you drained them enough as water will cause them to spit horribly if you didn't.

* Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt and the spice of your choice- I use smoked paprika because it's yummy and I love the religious kitsch of the tin. Be generous with your flavourings, now is not the time to worry about your salt intake! Leave a few seconds just to let the spices permeate and the chickpeas turn a toasty brown colour.

* Drain on kitchen towel.

Eat and enjoy! They're fantastic with a very cold white wine or dry sherry as a tapas.

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