| the glory of crispy chickpeas |

 What protein costs less than $2, takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, tastes amazing, and goes with basically everything? CRISPY CHICKPEAS. Even my kid who doesn't like chickpeas will gobble these up as a snack or side. They're incredible. 

Crispy chickpeas are my favorite thing to add to essentially any dish when it needs a protein but I don't know what to add:

• Pasta? Yes. 
• Salads? Also yes. 
• Indian food? Absolutely. 
• Mexican food? Sure thing. 
• East Asian food? Why not? 
• Throw them in a wrap or sandwich? Yep. 
• A topping for soup? Indeed. (And they work on hot soup or a cold soup like gazpacho.)

Since I typically season mine with only salt and pepper they kind of just end up tasting like whatever I add them to. But you can also add whatever seasonings you want. When I'm snacking on them plain, I enjoy them with cumin or chili powder (or both). I've also been known to give them a quick soak in vinegar before preparing them and then they essentially turn into a salt & vinegar chip substitute. 

I've spent quite a few years perfecting my method, so here it is:

1. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. I suppose you can make them from dry, but I typically don't. 
2. Plop those puppies onto a clean dishtowel and then give them a good rub-down until they're very dry. This step is VERY important to crispiness - don't skip it. 
3. Turn on a skillet to high and use a high-heat oil (I prefer coconut or grapeseed. Canola also works. NOT olive because it'll smoke. But you can add some olive oil later for flavor if you want.)
4. Toss a couple tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a paper bag. Add salt, pepper, and any other seasonings. 
5. Throw the chickpeas into the bag and shake, shake, shake. Then toss them in the skillet when the oil is hot. 
6. Stir often and let them get as crispy as you'd like. And then let them get a tiny bit crispier. 
7. At this point, if you crave the taste of olive oil, add a little drizzle for taste and let them crisp a bit more. 
8. Dump onto paper towels. Let them cool a bit. Enjoy immediately. 

Photo by Kyle Killam: https://www.pexels.com/photo/round-grilled-food-106972/