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?
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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.)
is there something I can use instead of nutritional yeast?
maybe flour?
These look delicious! We need to buy a food processor, too. Someone bought it from our registry and sent it to us. Go figure!
I adore chickpeas and this recipe looks delicious.
I have had a few kitchen disasters…the worst was when I set the stove on fire when we were getting ready to move. There was stuff all over the kitchen, including a couple items on the stove. I turned on the wrong burner…I burned a whole baby monitor. Not good. There was soot all over the house a couple days before we had to turn it over to someone else. My new rule is to never never put anything on the stove that doesn’t belong there, even if I don’t plan to cook.
Yum! These look delish! My food processor took a dump too! I ended up get a 16 cup Cuisnart that works wonderfully! I love it! Actually I love it so much I named him Zacj! Ithink I see him more then my Husband!!
This looks great and so simple..luv it..plus it’s green! :)
i killed my mom’s immersion blender by sticking it in a jar of almond butter, trying to blend in the oil that separated out. whoopsie!
The first time I ever made icing with my KitchenAid mixer, I was adding icing sugar to the bowl and then accidental contact… The beater tapped the cup and in turn swooped white powder up and out – all over me and half the kitchen. I laughed like a crazy person. It was very “I Love Lucy” and took forever to clean up. The next morning, I opened an overhead cupboard and a mini fall of icing sugar fell to the counter. More cleaning. Lol. You can imagine that I am hyper aware when I make icing after that. Btw, your chocolate cherry truffles? LOVELY. Made them last night to test run pre Valentine’s Day and they are spectacular. :) Thanks for the awesome recipe!
lol I can just imagine the mess that would’ve made. Glad you like the truffles!
Can’t wait to make those chickpeas..yum!!! Kitchen Disasters…too many to name them all. The time I burnt up my blender trying to use it as a food processor and pack it full of things that didn’t belong..the plastic melted. Whipping mashed sweet potatoes all over my kitchen when the mixer got out of control (or I had too much wine :). Burning my big pregnant belly on a hot cookie sheet sitting on my stove as I reached up for the microwave (how could I forget about the big belly)..3 years ago and I still have the scar! ArGH!
Made this tonight and the boyfriend and I loved it! Thanks so much for the recipe. :)
Crispy chickpeas + salty pestos? Ohhhh lanta.
I have a food processor that has been loved nearly to death. About two years ago I thought we’d have to bury it because the handle got off track and we had to crank it back into place. Who knew that batch after batch of apple slaw would stress it out. But it’s still kicking. Right now, there is a chunk of handle that flies off every once in awhile and stops it in its tracks. I hate to replace her, she’s still a little work horse.
I also am VERY hard on crock pots. I shorted a plug out once and sent a shower of sparks that ate little holes in the crock pot when I put the insert on top of the cord that I didn’t realize was inside the metal housing. And one crockpot is without a knob and a handle. But, she still works, too.
I have tried roasting chickpeas before but not frying them like this, they look so, so good! And so does the pesto!
Yum major chickpea kick lately, this look like a fun take!
I have a Giada De Laurentiis brand food processor from Target. I am pretty sure it was under $70 and I have had it for over a year – it works really well! It has good reviews on Amazon too.
Holy crap, those chickpeas are so good! Angela, you are a genius!
Made this tonight and it was delish! Added a little too much garlic to the pesto…oops ;)
Thank you for all your recipes…if you have any suggestions on a good protein powder, would love to hear them. Can’t do whey. Any suggestions?
Aloha!
ey Becky, I like Garden of Life raw protein powder: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/25/protein-powder-reviews/ its not sweetened but I prefer to sweeten myself with frozen bananas
I broke my food processor on the first try as well. I couldn’t believe it because it was so stupid. I scraped down the sides and left the spoon in when I went to pulse. Now the container and blade are stuck together. I have researched online and it seeks pretty common, with or without the spoon incident. I still use it. I just have to wash it all put together…which is tricky. It’s a kitchenaid 14 cup and I am sure I would live it even more if I could separate it.
The battered fried chickpeas have become a stable in our house over last few months, thanks!
Made the chickpeas for the second time this weekend and tried adding (mild, madras style) curry powder. Soooo good! EVERYONE loved them, including my meat-loving husband and two little girls.
can’t anyone just comment about how the recipe turned out? Instead I read a lot of how good it looks, or it goes off on a tangent like this one about having smoothies blow up. I don’t have time to read thru them all, I am just looking to find out if people liked the recipe or not.