Chickpea frenzy!

My cooking mojo is finally back! Travels now feel like a distant memory, my new career has kicked off and I've finally had some time to myself to play around in the kitchen. I've gone back to that phase of focusing on one ingredient and just trying to make and create as many dishes as possible out of it. Today's focus was on chickpeas because they are so cheap and are also a good source of protein. I managed to make some pretty decent muffins as well as a great crunchy snack, perfect for catching up with the Great British Bake Off.

CINNAMON SPICED CHICKPEA AND RAISIN MUFFINS

These muffins are packed full of fibre, low in fat and the chickpeas bump up their protein content. Makes about 10 muffins or 6 large ones.

• 100g whole wheat flour
• 50 g oats
• 35 g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 50 g raisin 
• 1 400g can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and blended
• 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 egg
• 70 g honey
• 2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
• 100 g milk
• 2 tbsp chia seeds, optional
• Small handful of dark chocolate chips, optional
• Handful of sunflower seeds to top, optional

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, raisins, chia seeds and choc chips if using.
2. In another bowl, mix the blended chickpeas, egg, honey, vanilla, and oil until smooth. Pour into the bowl of dry ingredients and roughly combine. 
3. Slowly add in enough milk to form a cake like batter. Do not over mix.
4. Spoon into muffin cases and top with sunflower seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius until golden brown for around 15 minutes.

CRUNCHY CHICKPEA SNACK

I have always seen pictures of these on Instagram but never really realised how easy they were to make! This is such a simple and easy to make snack, definitely worth the effort. You can spice them as you wish; salt and pepper, cinnamon, cocoa, curry and so on... Perfect movie munching snack or just as nice used to top salads and soups.

• 400 g can of chickpeas, drained and dried
• Seasoning, I used 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Once you have rinsed the chickpeas, drain and dry with paper towels. Completely drying the chickpeas is key and will reduce required cooking time. 
2. You will find that most of the outer skins will fall off which is perfectly fine and will actually also speed up baking time.
3. Place the chickpeas on a metal tray and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Remove the tray, add oil and seasoning, give it all a good shake and bake for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy and hopefully I will be back to updating the blog on a weekly basis :)!
Xx

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