Lunchbox Bakes – Roasted Rosemary, Lemon + Garlic Chickpeas

These crunchy chickpeas make a great lunchbox snack, nibbles for when you have guests, or even wrapped up nicely as a gift.  The key to getting a good crunch on the chickpeas is to leave them to dry after draining them out of the can.  The first time I tried making these they were soft and chewy because I only patted them dry with a paper towel.  My second attempt were beautifully crunchy; I left them outside in the winter sun for about an hour until I could see them changing colour a bit. 

Something random I found when making these (which might be painfully obvious to everyone else) is that chickpeas actually do look like chickens.  Once you’ve taken the skin off them you’ll notice they have a little beak.  If you hold one so this points to the right, you’ll be looking at the ‘chicken’s’ profile.  They have cute puffy wings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 cans chickpeas
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tablespoons dried)

Drain and rinse the cans of chickpeas.  Remove the skins from the chickpeas, then spread on a baking tray or in a roasting dish, and leave to dry.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.  Roast the chickpeas for 20 minutes.
Remove the chickpeas from the oven and coat with the oil.  Mix the garlic powder, lemon zest and rosemary together.  Mix this through the chickpeas.
Roast the chickpeas for a further 20 – 40 minutes until you are happy with the ‘crunch’ of your chickpeas.
Remove from the oven.  Once cool, store in an airtight container.

For more delicious lunch ideas and information on how you can take part in Lunchbox Bakes, check out our Lunchbox Bakes page.

*Glass jar with label and ‘enjoy’ tag c/o Wink.