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Tom Douglas has a wonderful fried chickpea recipes that I've had a number of times - from his book "Tom's Big Dinners"
Olive oil as needed for frying (do not use Extra Virgin – use pure olive oil, it has a higher smoke point.)
8 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced about 1/8” thick (about ¼ cup)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas) (if starting with dried beans 1 cup raw yields a little more than 2 cups of cooked)
1/2 lemon wedge for garnish
Preheat oven to 200°F.
To fry the garlic, fill a heavy saucepan with oil to a depth of about 1-inch. Heat the oil to 325°. Add the sliced garlic to the oil and scoop it out with a skimmer or slotted spoon as soon as it starts to turn golden, after about 10 seconds. Drain the garlic on p.towels and leave at room temp. Season the garlic with salt l& pepper.
Start adding the garbanzos to the oil, a small handful at a time, and fry until golden and crusty, 2-3 minutes. (don’t add too many beans at one time as it will decrease the oil temp too much) As you are frying, keep checking the temp. of the oil and adjust heat as necessary to keep it between 325° and 350°F. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, scoop the garbanzos out as they are done and drain on p.towels. Season the fried garbanzos with salt and pepper, transfer them to a baking sheet, and keep warm in the oven.
To serve, transfer the beans to a serving bowl, scatter garlic over the top and sprinkle with lemon juice if desired.
These are really good served on a wilted escarole salad, but wonderful to just eat like candy.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com