New Snack Sensation: Mock Deep-Fried Chick Peas

I have discovered an amazing new snack. The January 2005 issue of Shape magazine includes a recipe for what they call Mock Deep-Fried Chick Peas. According to the team at Shape, this snack "provides all the crunchy satisfaction of chips, but offers protein, calcium and fiber too." I love chick peas and have never baked them like this, so I was all for trying this one out.

The people at Shape weren't lying. This is an awesome and relatively healthy recipe. All the nutrition information is provided below the recipe.

Mock Deep-Fried Chick Peas (or Baked Chick Peas with Herbs, which I think would be a nicer name and so that's what I will call them)
Recipe as seen in the January 2005 issue of Shape magazine
Serves 4
Total Prep and Cook Time: 40 Minutes

1 19-ounce can chick peas, well-drained, rinsed and patted dry
olive oil spray
coarse salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, or more to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place chick peas on a rimmed cookie sheet. Here are my chick peas before baking. (Note that I doubled the recipe, so I have a lot more chick peas than 19 ounces)



Bake, shaking tray every now and then, until golden brown and crunchy, about 35 minutes. Here are my chick peas emerging from the oven:



Pour into a large bowl. Lightly coat with olive oil spray; I used my trusty Misto for this. Add salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and oregano. Toss to coat evenly.



That's it. It's as simple as that. Each serving (with a serving being about 1/4 of the batch) is 136 calories, 8% fat, 75% carbs, and 17% protein. Chick peas are a very healthy food due to their high protein, low fat ratio and they are really flavorful and delicious.

I love this snack and am going to be trying all sorts of variations of it. For my first try, I seasoned it as the Shape recipe suggested but in the future I am going to play with the seasonings and change up the spices and herbs to see what else strikes my fancy. This dish was so easy to make yet so different and so good. I highly recommend trying it and I hope you like it as much as I did.