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Smoky Fried Chickpeas

Your Best Recipe with Paprika Contest Winner!

Smoky Fried Chickpeas

Photo by Sarah Shatz

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  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe with Paprika
  • A&M's Testing Notes: If you were to put out a bowl of these crunchy, smoky, spicy little nuggets at a cocktail party, it's likely they'd be gone in under five minutes. Aliwaks has taken an already brilliant idea...

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  • Chef

    Aliwaks's Notes: I was making a sort of Spanish/Moroccan Moorish sort of dinner for friends one night, and was looking for something small and spicy and crunchy to serve with drinks I thought I had almonds...

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Serves enough for 4

  1. Drain Chickpeas and set on paper towels over a colander to dry throughly (can be done 1 day in advance).

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  2. Heat oil in large pan (preferably cast iron) to 355 or until oil makes bubbles around 1 chickpea.

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  3. add lemon zest, thyme sprig, chickpeas in batches so pan doesn't crowd fry about 5 minutes until crunchy color & changes.

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  4. remove from oil, drain well over colander/sieve, add garlic, fry till golden.

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  5. Toss with smoked paprika & salt, add more if necessary..serve warm.

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Reply

Superb recipe — I particularly love the harmonious vibe of the garlic with the chickpea. I'm going to add more garlic slices next time. I also added a spritz of lemon at the end, which brightened the flavours. Oh, and I didn't use smoked paprika, but mine did come directly from Budapest, so it made up for it. Mmm......

PS: Make sure to be VERY careful when frying

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These were delicious! I made them as part of my first attempt at cooking a vegan meal...for company...for Christmas. They were very easy to make. I cooked a bag of dry garbanzo beans the day before and then set them on a towel to dry overnight before frying them. Perfect! Thank you for posting this recipe!

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Ok, in my continuing quest to figure out far in advance I can make just about anything, I made these Tuesday night for friends. Fried them -- it took me a bit to figure out that longer is better; you want them to look golden brown -- and held them in a warm oven for maybe half an hour. They were good. But they got better. Wednesday night, I heated some of the leftovers in the toaster over til they were hot -- yum. And the last batch Thursday night made us wish I had made more. (I had cooked a bag I found in the pantry.) So for those considering entertaining for a crowd, I'd say make them when you have time and recrisp them in the oven right before the party. Also, I added a little hot smoked paprika to the plain smoked paprika and next time would probably add more of the smoked. Delicious and totally addictive!

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How long will they last before they start to get soggy?

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How would I make these from dried chickpeas? Soak overnight and then directly fry, or overnight, then 1 hour cook and then fry?

I would appreciate any help

N538322836_1930755_1183 Reply

Definitely cook them, make sure they are cool and dry. I think they will be outstanding with properly cooked chickpeas, bravo for not taking shortcuts.

Kastcoverimage2 Reply

Delicious! I made them with chick peas cooked from scratch and had no trouble with getting them dry. Just spread on a towel after cooking and leave for an hour or two. I gave them the quick soak (bring to boil and let sit for an hour) and then cooked until soft but not falling apart, about 40 minutes. Also it's fine if you keep the cooked chick peas in the fridge for a few days or a week before drying and frying. Yes, I've eaten a lot of these yummy little guys all by myself while trying this out.

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1 coarse salt? Is that 1 tablespoon?

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It's coarse salt to taste. I found it on another site. It was bugging me too. A Tablespoon sounded like too much. I will be making these very soon.

Dscn4729 Reply

I have done this in the oven before but never on the stovetop since I hate dealing with all the oil in the frying pan. The oven works well but I'd bet this method gives a better crisp! So versatile and a good party snack that's veggie friendly.

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How do you do them in the oven? Toss with enough olive oil to coat, salt and seasonings, and bake at 400 or so? These look delicious - would love to serve them and the party popcorn with holiday cocktails!

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Very nice!

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To avoid the grease thing I read a recipe in a magazine that is almost the same except it used cajun or old bay seasoning's & you bake the chickpeas in a 400* oven for about 20 mins.
They taste wonderful !

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I love chick peas, they are so versatile....I am going to make this on the weekend. Thanks for the healthy snack recipe! Cheers.

Img_1763 Reply

Mmm. Mmm. Going to stash this one away for later. Thanks.

Gaby_by_sarah Reply

Making these for my vegan buddies for superbowl! thanks!

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You could also smash the chick peas and fry them in little pancakes as appetizers. Serve with a dollop of thick rich yogurt. Thanks for the recipe! Nice...

Deena_cooking Reply

made them, loved them!

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A hit. Somehow turned out much lighter and better than what we had sampled at a pricey tapas place.

Profile Reply

I made these just now with only chick peas, and tossed w/ paprika & kosher salt. AMAZING! Even the kids love them!

N538322836_1930755_1183 Reply

Cheese,
Good question, I've never let them sit too long. They tend to absorb alot of oil since they are quite soft.

I suppose you could give them more of a deep fry than a pan fry and that may get them crunchier ( longer lasting) (strain and keep oil for later use , so as not to waste) and do all lemon thyme garlic etc in the last fry..

Another thing to try may be to dry them well then dust with chickpea flour or cornstarch, bit of a change, but the outer layer may retain crunch a bit longer since it has so little moisture.

Cheese_for_twitter0001 Reply

I have served this at 3 dinner parties since it one the prize and I have not yet been disappointed. But what is the secret for keeping them extra crispy? Because of all the popping in the pan, I like to make them ahead of the guests arriving and while they are a 10 right out of the pan, they seem to loose their crunch quite quickly.

Lnd_jen Reply

Totally addictive - fabulous party fare!

Img_6160 Reply

Had a chance to taste these and they are addictive! Great snack...

P1020611 Reply

I just tried these and they are fabulous! Great cocktail party fare. Be sure to invite others to join you, though, because otherwise you'll risk eating the whole bowl yourself...

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