Crunchy garlic & herb chickpeas

This week, me and my garlic and herb chickpeas went on live radio! I know, right? Me and my pal Alun from Pomora drove to deepest darkest Essex in his rather flashy sports car. I say flashy, because his hazard lights were stuck on and flashed all the way up the M25. Anyway, Alun was invited on Phoenix Fm to talk all things olive oil and I was invited to well… actually, I wasn’t really sure why I was there. I just thought I was bringing the refreshments, but turns out, the show’s host Karin actually wanted to talk to me about my little old blog. So, that’s what I did – as well as down olive oil like sambuca and constantly correct Karin every time she called me Corrine – which happened more than once… So, if you fancy a laugh and want to hear what my voice sounds like (it’s much more baritone and Fearne Cotton than I realised) then click on my giant face below or here – my interview is about 43 minutes in.
Oh, and here’s the recipe for the crunchy garlic and herb chickpeas I made for the occasion along with my banana bread, smoky bean wraps and pea and mint pesto. Annoyingly crunchy for radio but perfect for watching a boxset with, these deliciously salty chickpeas make the perfect healthy snack.

Also, if you’d like to get your hand on some of Alun’s delicious Pomora olive oils, click here for a special discount.

Crunchy garlic & herb chickpeas
Serves 2 as a snack / hands on time 10 mins / total time 45 mins + 2 hours drying time / V Vn Gf Df
You’ll need: Kitchen roll, baking paper, 1-2 non-stick baking trays
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (I like to use flavoured oils so for this recipe I used Pomora rosemary flavoured oil) 
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp dried Parsley
½ sea salt flakes

TIP: This recipe is easily doubled up but you will require 2 baking trays.

1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6 and put the baking tray/trays in the oven to warm up. Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly before draining and patting dry with kitchen roll.
2. Carefully remove the hot trays from the oven, line with baking paper and evenly scatter the chickpeas onto the trays. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes before giving them their first shake. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, Meanwhile, mix up your flavour ingredients in a small bowl and prepare a larger bowl for the chickpeas.
3. Remove from the oven (keep the oven on) and pour into the larger bowl along with the oil. Give them a good stir to ensure the chickpeas are well coated before adding the seasoning. Mix well before returning to the baking tray/trays and roasting for a further 10 minutes.
4. Give the chickpeas another shake and roast for a final 10 minutes before turning the oven off but leaving the chickpeas in. Leave the chickpeas to dry out in the cooling oven for a couple of hours – this will give your chickpeas an extra crunchy texture. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to a week.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian.    Vn– Vegan.    Gf – Gluten free    Df– Dairy free