“Battered” Fried Chickpeas & Chickpea Basil Pesto

This battered chickpea recipe happened completely by accident.

Accidents don’t usually happen in my kitchen, unless we’re talking about the bad kind. Like when my processor exploded while making this pesto…

Or when the blender decided to erupt, exploding Green Monster lava all over the kitchen. Or those (many) times when I plugged in the electric mixer to discover it’s already turned on, shooting batter all over the place, as I scream for help.

This processor is the second Kitchenaid 14-cup processor that I’ve murdered, slowly and painfully over time. Actually, I broke the first one trying to process dates on the first try. It takes a real skill to break a processor on the first go around!

I’ve become so accustomed to this wonky processor, I don’t even bat an eyelash when it does weird things like ooze liquids. Eric walked into the kitchen the other day, looking with horror at the processor explosion. I tried to explain to him that this was “normal” and now he thinks I’m the crazy one.

Why do I get the feeling that I’m getting a food processor for Valentine’s Day?

Chickpea Basil Pesto

Vegan, gluten-free, no bake/raw, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

Yield
3/4 cup

Prep time
10 minutes

Cook time
0 minutes

Total time
10 minutes

If your food processor isn’t broken, it’s all downhill from here. Use this flavourful, lightened-up pesto on sandwiches, fried chickpeas, wraps, tofu, crackers, and more

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup packed fresh basil, stems removed (30 grams)
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste

Directions

1. With the food processor running, drop in the peeled garlic cloves through the top opening until minced.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add in the oil, lemon juice, and basil. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
3. Add in the chickpeas and optional nutritional yeast. Process again until smooth. Add salt to taste and process. You can add a bit more oil or water to achieve your desired consistency. Scoop into a jar or air-tight container. Will keep in the fridge for 1 week or so.

After making the pesto, I had some leftover chickpeas to use up, so I decided to lightly fry them in the skillet, adding seasonings as I went.

This was my first time making fried chickpeas…and oh my lanta they are good!!

I never thought I’d see the day when Eric would pound back chickpeas. It was funny at first until he ate all of them on me…

"Battered" Fried Chickpeas

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free

Yield
1.5 cups

Prep time
5 minutes

Cook time
10 minutes

Total time
15 minutes

Bored of plain chickpeas? The nutritional yeast and seasonings give the chickpeas a thin coating and a ton of flavour, perfect for popping into your mouth. Keep in mind that the chickpeas don’t get crispy, but they do firm up a bit. I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic in this recipe because the powder gives it more of a coating, like flour would. Add them to a salad, mix them up with chickpea pesto in a wrap, or just eat them plain. Note: You can also scale down the recipe depending on how many chickpeas you have to use up.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2-2.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Herbamare (or use kosher salt)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the chickpeas. When the skillet has pre-heated (chickpeas should sizzle on it), carefully add the drained chickpeas to the skillet. Be very careful as they will sizzle and crackle in the oil and it may splash you.
3. Fry the chickpeas, stirring every 20 seconds or so, over medium heat. After a few minutes, stir in the rest of the ingredients to taste. The chickpeas will have a thin coating on them. Fry for about 5-6 more minutes, stirring frequently and making sure they don’t burn. If they are starting to burn, reduce heat. They should be golden and lightly charred in some parts.

Tip:

Enjoyed with the chickpea basil pesto, they did not last long!

Tuesday’s Post

Thank you for your kind words about the news (and patience for the blog crashing most of Tuesday morning). We now have over 3,000 of you signed up for the newsletter! I’ve started working on the first questionnaire and hope to have the first newsletter out in the next couple weeks. I just need to figure out how this beast works…

Bloggie Awards

The 2012 Bloggies are going down right now until Feb 19th, with bloggers nominated in all kinds of categories. Oh She Glows is nominated in the “Health or Wellness” blog category (along with many of my fav bloggers, like Caitlin and Leo). If you’d like to check out the nominees and vote for your favs in each category, click here. There are a ton of fun categories (and blogs) to check out.

~~~

Today, I’d love to make myself feel better by reading about your kitchen appliance disasters. Tell me all about it…I know I’m not alone!

Also, do you have a food processor that you’re in love with? I’d love to hear about the brand/model you recommend (I get asked this a lot too, so I know many readers would love to read your input.)