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?
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 
Chickpea Basil Pesto
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3/4 cupPrep time
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0 minutesTotal time
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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…
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. Enjoyed with the chickpea basil pesto, they did not last long!
"Battered" Fried Chickpeas
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1.5 cupsPrep time
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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 made date squares for the first time the other day, and thought I must be doing it wrong because the dates were so hard to process! I used the magic bullet… which ended up taking forever because I could only do a couple of dates at a time, but it worked really well. I also use it on soups, because my blender no longer works. If you’re doing small batches, the magic bullet is great.
I tried to cook beets in the microwave once and horribly failed. =( They started on fire and I ended up destroying the microwave..and the homegrown beets!! I try to avoid microwave cooking by all means now.
Looks delicious! As for a food processor… I don’t have one. I use my Vitamix for EVERYTHING. If it’s something really small I use the cup attachment on my immersion blender (or just chop by hand). I have a really small kitchen and the less appliances the better!
I can’t wait to try out both of these recipes! I recently attempted to lighten up my pesto recipe and it didn’t have much flavor, so I’m excited to try yours. I never would have thought of adding chickpeas!
When I was younger, maybe around 14 or so, my younger sister and I were home by ourselves and we had something heating up in the oven. Next thing I knew, there was a flame in the oven! It was an electric oven and part of the coil had caught on fire. Thinking I was being brave and responsible, I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the garage and sprayed the oven until the flame went out. However, I had NO idea what a mess a fire extinguisher makes. And whenever I think about it I can still taste the disgusting flavor I had in my mouth from breathing in those icky particles – so gross. To top it all off, my mom was mad at me for making such a mess! Not my finest hour.
I LOVE my food processor and use it all the time. I have a Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 Food Processor (DLC-8S Series). My mom has had her Cuisinart food processor since she and my dad got married 30 years ago, so I think they’re pretty reliable!
Good gracious, woman! It is like we are on the same level. I have all these chickpeas to use up and I had no idea what to do with them, since we are hummus’d out!
While I have never busted a food processor (let us know what brand everyone is recommending, I need a new one!), I go through blenders like they are not an expensive appliance! I burnt out the motor on two Breville’s because of my heavy on the beans and greens smoothies! I should just shell out the dough (ha ha, no pun intended!) on a VitaMix, I just cannot convinve my husband.
I once set my toaster oven on fire when I tried to make grilled cheese in it and the cheese ended up oozing out onto the elements. Whoops! :P
Ha-ha I have done the exact thing!
So making this! I just need to get some fresh basil stat!
I ran out of nooch last night making juice pulp crackers NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I have to make these, oh they look so yummy and I’ve been on a huge salad kick lately so I bet they would be a great addition.
3000! Can you believe it. You are awesome, the community on your blog is awesome and I’m so happy for you.
I’ve always enjoyed chickpeas. Fried chickpeas. Baked chickpeas. Curried chickpeas… you get the idea. But lately I’ve been really appreciating the intense and wonderful flavor of fresh basil.
This would be perfect on top of a salad. Couldn’t see it lasting too long though.
OH, Angela, don’t feel bad. I killed a food processor myself – not the first time, but within a month, so maybe 3rd time? 4th time? I guess when they say don’t overfill they mean DON’T overfill. I just kept pressing the buttons and told my then boyfriend that something happened. He came in, saw the thing filled to the top, and said “You killed it.” Bye bye food processor.
I also killed a kitchenaid mixer. In my defense I think it was a defected model. I turned it on, worked fine, added some ingredients went to turn it on again…. dead. We promptly returned it and got a better one… she’s still kicking ::knock on wood:: for years now.
Love the addition of chickpeas to pesto…looks great!
I killed my first blender trying to blend beets and their leaves. The motor literally began to smoke and the fire alarm went off in our apartment and I had the smell of beets and smoke stuck in our tiny place for the entire day :(
Thank you, I was just looking for a dairy-free pesto sauce to try out! I love the idea of cooking chickpeas this way too, never tried that!
I subscribed for your newsletter and cannot wait for the first one! I’m heading over to vote right now too :)
Working with an industrial mixer once, my assistant plugged it in and POOF! a big black smoke ball and sparks spat at him. That same summer our septic system backed up into the kitchen… gross. So gross. The worst part was running upstairs and having to yell at someone through the bathroom door “Stop what you’re doing!”
I’ve had my Cuisinart food processor for 14 years with absolutely no issues. I love KitchenAid for stand mixers and their excellent customer service, but with food processors, I’m a Cuisinart girl all the way!
Wow what a fantastic recipe. Can’t wait to try on top of a salad.
Ouch!! I’ve heard that happening so many times, I’m actually surprised it hasn’t happened to me before.
I live with my aunt who has every NICE kitchen appliance there is. She never uses them but I do..and I break them…and then have to replace them….it’s been an expensive 10 months :D
ahhh! Kitchen appliance meltdowns are no fun! but thanks for reminding me of a funny incident! Not long after my fiance and I started our relationship, we were making brownies or cake together. I had one of those really cheap handheld mixers and while I was beating the batter, it started to smell kinda funky! (but I was really used to that smell b/c it always did that) And Greg goes, “uhhhh is this gonna explode? I think it’s breaking down” and I tell him, “nahhh no worries. It always does that and I’m used to it!” And right after I said that, it started smoking and made a “pfffff” noise and stopped working. I don’t know why but that was such a memorable and funny moment! :P But I might be the only one laughing right now hehe.
Angela–you’re a genius, I’m going to try frying the chi-chi beans…I bet they are wonderfully crispy compared to baking. Congratulations on the book deal–well desevered, looking forward to your published book!
I’LL make you feel better. I have a food processor that I broke the grater attachment to and I’m missising the little thing that slides in the side to keep stuff from falling out so I have to carefully position my fingers over the hole and hope for th best. I’ve had carrots, batter, bread you name it flying all over when I forget and turn it on. Sadly for me this is normal. My fiancé does give me odd looks when I use it too
I love chickpeas – these look fab!
The chickpea pesto recipe sounds yum! I haven’t had pesto in forever! “Green Monster lava” = hysterical! I’ve had two mid-price range ($150 – $200) Cuisinart food processors, and both have served me very well – no complaints! I have had too many kitchen disasters to identify, not necessarily involving appliances. My accidents tend to involve the spilling of large quantities of tiny grains and seeds, i.e. quinoa, chias, etc.
Oh, and congrats on the nomination…going to check out now!
Made these for lunch. Eating them right now in fact! Supper yummy!!!
I ment super not supper. Stupid iPhone auto correct:)
glad to hear that ashley!
Oh my lanta! Ha! :)
I fried a Cuisinart food processor/blender combo recently. I didn’t have the bottom on tight enough so the bottom was stripped. I bought a Kitchen Aid food processor to replace it. I love it! It came highly recommended and it was less than $100!
I never would have thought to try chickpeas like this, it looks so good! And congratulations on the blog award nomination! Now I’m off to go vote :)
Angela, I too have a Cuisinart and I love it–however I have noticed that food processors are not as good as blenders with liquids.
I was just wondering if you have ever tried dehydrating chick peas before cooking. I love this idea of frying them, but I was hoping you would say that they got crispy. I want some on top of my salad right now.
This is more of a housekeeping disaster than a kitchen disaster. My husband and I were living in a 1 bedroom apartment in Thailand. He had this battery with cables or wires attached to it that he charged in our bedroom. I don’t know much about that, but I plugged an iron into the outlet beside it. I started ironing, and soon I saw smoke and then fire. I started jumping around like Rumpelstiltskin screaming “FIRE! FIRE!,” shortly followed by “I didn’t do it -it’s not my fault!” Well, it turned out that the cord of the iron had caused the two battery cables to touch each other, and that’s what started the fire, so it was my fault. Oopsies! Luckily no one was hurt and we had a tile floor, so our home wasn’t damaged.
Hi am loving your blog and recipes! My recommendation for a food processor is a Thermomix! You can only buy them through consultants of which I am one but as I live in Australia I’m a bit far away to come and show you why they have the name of the smallest smartest kitchen in the world. You would love them especially with the style of food you do there is nothing else on the market that compares. Check out their web site and have a demonstration you won’t regret it. I make everything in mine – almond milk, rice milk, mill grains and seeds into flour, nut butters, green smoothies, sorbet in 2 min, salads in seconds, dips and sauces and so much more.
thanks, will do!
Hi again, here’s a link to check it out www.thermomix.com.au it’s our Australian site am sure you can find one for the US but I think the Australian site shows a bit more about what the Thermomix does
Name an appliance and I’ve had a disaster with it haha. Food processor, stand mixer, toaster, blender… It seems like I always make a mess. Love this recipe! These would be great in the summer even mixed with pasta salad :)
YUMMO! HOw very delicious indeed!!!
“I tried to explain to him that this was normal…” You are hilarious! I always laugh when I read your posts. I laughed really hard yesterday when I read your comment about spilling chia seeds everywhere and finding mysterious spills on your slippers. I feel your pain with the leaking processor. My Kitchen Aid blender leaks all the time now, and at first at drove me crazy, but now I just roll with it. So what if my green monster leaks on the counter? That’s what paper towels are for! :)
Sorry to hear about your food processor curse! Those chickpeas look awesome. Bet they taste awesome too!
This looks so good can’t wait to try it! Have gotten a little tired of plain hummus . I soak 3 pds. of beans at a time and cook in slow cooker then freeze what I don’t need. It’s alot cheaper and I think they taste better. Thanks for your recipes and your web site you have really helped us so much .
We make these in place of fries or potato chips all the time. I love making them spicy too. I have even “honey” roasted, they taste just like peanuts. YUM.
Kitchen disaster – brand new food processor, first time using it. I emptied the contents of what I had just processed into a bowl and then put the plastic piece down on a hot stove. Thank goodness you can replace those. The smell of melted plastic was horrible.
Those chickpeas look amazing! Can’t wait to try them.
I forgot to tell you about my blender explosion ! I was making your wonderful vegan gravy [My whole family thinks it’s to die for] it started leaking from the bottom and I quickly shut it off but it just kept running and sparking and smoking , it looked like it was possessed ,I’m embarrassed to admit I actually ran away from it . My husband was laughing so hard he said my eyes looked like saucers , then he went in and unplugged the beast . Which had actually caught fire by this time. He now loves to tell the story of rescuing me from the demon possessed blender. It was really weird like something you see in a movie that looks kinda phony, totally strange !
These both look great!
I have a Cuisinart food processor that has 12-cup, 10-cup, and a 3-cup bowls. It also has 3 blades and two discs that go with it. I LOVE it. I use it almost every day. It’s very powerful — it has no problem with dates! My only complaint is that the gasket on the lid is difficult to clean.
I saw this post this morning, and HAD to make these for lunch! The pesto & chickpea combo is delicious! I never would have thought to combine these, but I just ate the entire batch I made- oops. And now I am eating the pesto I have left by the spoonful! The best part about this is it is super quick to make! It only took me about 10 minutes :) Thanks Angela!
Been there done that with the whole “plugging the mixer in without knowing it’s already turned on” action. ‘Flour bombed’ my kitchen a couple of times doing that. So for my food processor recommendation, I have the Cuisinart DFP-14BCN 14-Cup Food Processor in Brushed Stainless Steel. I purchased it on Amazon. Seriously this thing is an animal! So incredibly quiet, very sleek, easy to assemble, clean and operate. The power it unleashes is unvelieveable. I regularly make pestos, cinnamon date balls, yeast dough, banana soft serve, the list goes on and on. I LOVE THIS MACHINE!
Where oh where to start with kitchen disasters??? Maybe the first time I learned to use the dishwasher about 10 years ago (I’m 24 now) and put in regular dish detergent rather than dishWASHER detergent…bubbles coming out of the entire kitchen! Or the time more recently that my younger sister and I were trying to ‘country fry’ steaks for Father’s Day for our dad and nearly burned the kitchen down because the oil almost caught on fire…Dad had to save the day on that one. He ended up cooking his own steaks for Father’s Day haha
So many more – including several involving a food processor with a mind of its own :)
Oh dear, you broke the food processor on the first go. That’s depressing. I broke a juicer on the first go many years ago. I don’t want to think about it though…
I’ll go and vote for your blog in a minute. You are so inspiring Angela. :)
i can’t believe i have never tried fried chickpeas. i LOVE them baked, and this is much faster!
I’ve definitely had my share of kitchen appliance disasters. The one that takes the cake though happened when I was about 12. My mom, sister, and I were making cookies, and I was beating the batter with an electric mixer. All the sudden, I had this pain in my head, and I realized that my hair had gotten caught in the beaters! The beaters twisted up my hair till they were pounding on my head! We struggled to get the darn thing turned off for a few seconds. I had a bald spot on my head for awhile after that incident! :)
I had a laugh reading your food processor troubles! My mom has had her black and decker food processor since her wedding day 20 years ago and its still going strong! It sounds like the world is breaking in two when I try to process dry dates but other than that it really can’t be beat.
BTW, not sure if I am just waaaay behind the times and everyone already knows this, but I was ecstatic to learn the the blade from my broken blender fits onto a normal sized mason jar. So now I can make smoothies in a jar, using the blender base, and it doesn’t matter that the “jug” part of the blender is broken. Most helpful thing I have ever learned in the kitchen!
Oh… oh, those chickpeas sound good. This may sound odd, but I literally *crave* chickpeas, sometimes – but I’ve never had them like this before. The pesto sounds good as well, but oh… oh, the chickpeas. :P
And I apologize for not having a brand of food processor to recommend… I oftne find myself in the same situation, with liquid oozing out or things mysteriously stopping or starting, and for the most part I’ve resigned myself to believing that’s just the way it’s going to be. One of these days I’ll talk myself into getting a new one.
I have an OLD 7 cup Cuisinart food processor. We have a bit of a love-hate relationship (I may have abused her a bit) – I use it at least once a day (sometimes 4-5 times) for some horrible and mean task. For the most part, she keeps on going… BUT… if I am processing anything that might get even a little liquid-y, I have to put a towel over her. This saves my walls from being splashed with all manner of messiness. I get frustrated each time I have to do it. Then I remind myself that I have had her for a LONG time (over 10 years – I really don’t remember not having her).
When I buy a new one, it will likely be another Cuisinart. I feel like I owe them at least that much :)
My hubby munches up chick peas cooked this way, too (this is very out of character). I usually add a bunch of garam masala or chaat masala at the end – VERY yummy! I can’t wait to try adding a bit of nutritional yeast… why didn’t I think of that??
I don’t always get along with my food processor either. It’s a Moulinex – nothing fancy – I’ve had it for years and when I haven’t used it for a while I seem to forget how to put the pieces together to make it work! Then once I finally remember how to get it to turn on, it’s like the spinning action of the blade tightens everything and I can’t get the lid off. On more than one occasion I’ve been known to take my meat tenderizer mallet and bang away on the lid to pry it off. I keep hoping that in doing this I will break something and have an excuse to buy a new one but sadly that hasn’t happened yet.
I’m also pretty good at burning out hand mixers – must have gone thru half a dozen in the last 10 years!