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?
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Chickpea Basil Pesto
Yield
3/4 cup
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
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
- With the food processor running, drop in the peeled garlic cloves through the top opening until minced.
- 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.
- 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…
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
"Battered" Fried Chickpeas
Yield
1.5 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
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
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.)
I have a feeling i’m going to be making these SUPER soon =)
Kitchen disasters? How bout daily! haha — I overflowed my kitchen last week by leaving the sink running, closed my hand in my pannini press once, lost key parts to my blender, processed food without the lid on it and…. well, today’s a new day and i’m sure i’ll have another disaster by the end of it =) Its always good for a belly laugh-cry combo. haha
I have a 14-cup Magimix that works like a champ but a) only has one speed setting (for a $400 food processor!) and has a million parts that need cleaning every time, which is annoying. However, when it chops carrots and onions into nice, uniform pieces for me so I can make a soup I somehow forgive all its flaws.
ps. I always bake my chickpeas but these look just as yummy and fast!
Ypur pesto recipes are soooo good!! I love the high protein one you made last! Can’t wait to try this one out!!!
I just have to say.. DON’T eat two cans of chickpeas in any form in one sitting. It’s just not pretty.
That is all.
This recipe looks amazing, btw!!! :)
lol..I can imagine!
I was making sunflower seed pate and it wasn’t until after I had sampled some of it and was cleaning up afterwards that I noticed half the scraper was missing… I had scraped down the sides as it was blending and it must have caught the blade. Just goes to show you how sharp those things are because I didn’t feel it grab or anything!
Chickpeas, roasted or sauted… YUM! That recipe is “in the vault!”
First of all, I just have to say how much I LOVE your blog! I’ve been a vegetarian for nearly three years, but I decided to go vegan as a New Year’s Resolution. Your recipe posts have definitely saved me from endless nights of eating salad for dinner.
I can’t say I’ve ever had any explosive accidents in the kitchen, but I have burned pasta once. Okay, twice. Thankfully I’ve come a long way since then.
Thank you Ashley!
That pesto looks great, what an awesome idea!
As far as kitchen food processors go; I go hands down for cuisinart.
I bought a Vitamix at Whole Foods when they were doing a roadshow . Love it! Use it every day and it is so easy to clean. No green lava explosions.
I’ve killed six blenders in the 16.5 years I’ve been married. It’s usually right in the middle of making a smoothie that it happens. So sad! I just killed my crock pot last week. I had the heavy insert sitting on the back burner of my stove. I was cooking rice on the front burner (or so I thought). I walked away to help my son with a math problem and heard a huge pop from the kitchen. Yep turned on the wrong burner and cracked the insert. Ugh!
pesto hummus….. duh! How have I never seen this on the blogworld before it’s genius. My food processor is…. quirky also. I have a cuisineart and love it though!
I’d never tried the chickpeas in the pan before- just roasted in the oven…can’t wait to give this a go…
And green messes are somehow the worst!!!
Haha, I hope you do get a new food processor next week!
Dates should come with a food processor warning – I blew two 1-cup models and almost totalled my partner’s blender trying to make tasty Larabar-knockoffs! I’ve since learned to soak them for 30 min pre-processing and no more blenders were harmed in the making of delicious!
Can’t wait for the cookbook – keep up the good work, Angela!
haha i was making larabar knockoffs too im pretty sure
Poor processor! That basil looks like it was worth it though. I’ve never fried chickpeas before – I do like them baked. I love how crispy/crunch they get! Will have to try out the frying method next.
My worst kitchen appliance disaster… oh what a story. It was last year, I was in graduate school and had an exam that day…but I had woken up at 5:30 am with a horrific migraine. Obviously, I still had to take the exam, at this point it was lunch time, so I knew I had to eat something before I left for school to take the exam at 4:00 pm. I had taken medicine but I still felt pretty awful and all I wanted was a smoothie. So.. into my blender went a frozen banana, strawberries, soy milk and flaxseed. I hit blend, as usual. All of the sudden, I felt small things hitting me in the arm. I looked down and saw all these little black pieces of plastic on my arm. OH that’s because my blender was basically shredding itself on the inside and spewing tiny bits of black plastic all over the kitchen. I cried (seriously, I know) and ended up making my smoothie in the food processor. Desperate times call for desperate measures!
I feel so bad for laughing at this, but damn that is funny!!! Not at the time, of course. Good grief, I can’t believe it ate itself.
Ohhh, fried chickpeas?! I’ve only ever roasted them. I would assume that they would be similar…
I am just way too obsessed with chickpeas lately (in both savory and sweet dishes)- not that it’s necessarily a bad thing…
my food processor exploded one time when I was making black bean brownies…it was messy… :)
Oo I’ve never seen pesto made with chickpeas, love that idea. I wonder how the pan fried chickpeas compare to roasted chickpeas hmm. I’ll have to try them! I don’t know if I’ve had appliance disasters. I mean my blender always leaks a bit from the bottom and I have no idea why. My food processor only works if I hold the top in place (otherwise it eventually falls out of place it’s supposed to click into and will stop). But I’m just used to those little quirks! I am dying to get a new food processor so look forward to seeing what people say is the best. :)
My poor food processor has definitely taken a beating too. When I first discovered how to make nut butters I went crazy making so many different kinds…. And it almost didn’t make it.
On a better note, both these recipes look phenomenal! The pesto is kinda like a hummus-esque pesto. Love it!
While this isn’t actually a kitchen APPLIANCE disaster, and it didn’t technically happen TO me, it might still make you feel better. :) When I was an undergrad I shared a townhouse with three other women, and one day, two of them decided to open up a bottle of red wine in the kitchen. Something went wrong with the wine bottle opener and the end result was red wine all over the cabinets, counter, floor, even the ceiling! Oops!
As for food processors, we are putting a KitchenAid 13-cup processor on our wedding registry. My fiance’s sister just got one recently, and that thing is beast! Right now I have a 3-cup (or 4?) Cuisinart, and it gets the job done when I make my weekly batch of hummus. :)
That’s happened to me before too (the wine) and once I was using a wine opener and the cork fell INTO the wine bottle and of course we couldnt get it- or the tiny cork shards- out. That wasn’t a good drink!
Well, student life taught me how to open a wine bottle with a plastic pen, a screw driver and an electric drill. Pushing the cork inside was always a good option esp. if you break the cork on the half way. And oh yes, we always used a tea shieve to get rid of cork pieces – it worked! :)
Good old days lol..
hahah wish I would have thought of that one!