Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas

“Life turns on a dime. Sometimes towards us, but more often it spins away, flirting and flashing as it goes: so long, honey, it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it?” - Stephen King, "11/22/63"

I'm at the tale end of a completely absorbing (and exceptionally long--it is Stephen King, after all) book right now that is sucking up all of my free time, including my cooking time. I can't complain, there are few things I love more than a great book, but that means I've been making food that takes as little time as possible.

I'm also still trying to create more recipes with more beans, less meat. It's going really well. This week I tackled the most consumed legume in the world--the chickpea. Now, I had all kinds of ideas about creating the perfect hummus, or inventing a new chickpea casserole, but like I said, this book is hella addicting. So I made something easy, fast, and delicious. And actually, quite addicting itself.

Roasted chickpeas aren't a new thing, or maybe even all that exciting. But sometimes a new take on an old recipe can revive it again, and this oil combo on the chickpeas is a winner. So ditch the plain old salt and garlic standby and spice it up with this twist! I ate these as a snack, but I intend to make them again and throw them on  a salad. They can be as versatile as you'd like!

Ingredients:

1 cup olive oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1-2 inch chunk of aged Parmesan

1 can of chickpeas 

salt

Directions: 

Step 1: In a small saucepan bring olive oil to a boil. Add rosemary, thyme, and reduce heat to simmer. When the oil is warm and no longer hot, add the Parmesan. Let sit for 1 hour. 

Step 2: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse chickpeas and blot with a paper towel, or let dry. 

Step 3: Remove rosemary, thyme, and Parmesan cheese from the oil and set aside.  Spread chickpeas evenly on a tin foil covered cookie sheet. Drizzle chickpeas with oil, keeping in mind you will probably have lots of extra oil. (Return the seasonings to the remaining oil and refrigerate for your next batch of chickpeas or potatoes!)  

Step 3: Bake for 30-45 minutes, turning halfway through. Salt to taste. Wait until the chickpeas have cooled to serve. 

(sidenote: If the Parmesan doesn't melt, which is what you want, you can shred it at the end and put it on your chickpeas. I didn't do it the first time but I'm going to try it on round two!)

Serves 2 (snacks).