Continuing my healthy match day treats theme, today's recipe is for maple and cinnamon roasted chickpeas. For me, snacking on these while watching the match is a really good alternative to snacking on a bowl of crisps. The maple syrup will caramalise when roasted leaving you with a delicious sweet and sticky treat. Add a little sea salt to satisfy any of those oh so common salty snack cravings.
The problem I have with many traditional high carb/low protein snacks like crisps is that I keep munching on them until the entire pack is empty and I still want more. Who is with me on this?! With this snack, because chickpeas are high in fibre and protein, I get that feeling of satiety much quicker than I do with crisps, for example. Therefore, I tend not to eat as much of these as I might do with a less nutritious snack.
This recipe makes a small bowl of roasted chickpeas. If you are catering for a bigger party it can easily be multiplied. Just make sure not to over crowd your baking tray and use two if you have to.
Ingredients:
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (depends on how sweet you like it)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5/190C.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and wrap them in a clean tea towel. To remove the little translucent skin from the chickpeas, gently roll the towel for a few seconds without applying too much pressure. Open the towel and the skin will have loosened. Use your fingers to finish removing the skins from the chickpeas. Place the chickpeas on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the maple syrup, cinnamon and sea salt. Once the chickpeas have roasted for 30 minutes, remove them from the oven and tip them into the bowl. Toss them gently to coat them in the maple syrup mixture. Place the chickpeas back on the baking tray and return them to the oven for a further ten minutes.
4. To serve, put the chickpeas in a small bowl and top with a sprinkling of sea salt.