Gonzo Garbonzos

While searching for easy appetizer recipes for my purse party, someone suggested these so I decided to try them out.

I really like garbonzo beans and I also like them when you buy them dried and crunchy so I thought these would be tasty.

Gonzo Garbonzos
2 15.5oz cans of garbonzo beans, drained, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup shelled pistachios (optional-I did not use)

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Toss chickpeas with oil, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne.
3. Spread on baking dish and bake until brown and crisp (about 25min) stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from oven and stir in thyme and pistachios.
5. Bake until crunchy (about 10min)



These did not turn out as good as I hoped. First of all, I will say I didn't dry the garbonzos. I rinsed them then patted them dry with papertowels. I'm not sure how dry you really need them. When I baked them for 25mins, they were not brown or crisp at all, but I added the thyme to them and returned them to the oven. After the additional 10min, they still were not browned and nowhere near crunchy (I kept sampling them along the way). I think I ended up baking them an hour total and just decided to take them out and see what happened. Some of the beans are crunchy like they should be, but some are still pretty soft so I was disappointed. The seasoning is pretty good, but they were not a hit at my party....I honestly don't think anyone touched them!

Oh well...not everything you try turns out to be a "winner".