Really Spicy Chickpeas And Nuts

This is a delicious version of another recipe that I was given recently. I love pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts and macadamias and they go perfectly with my other favorite, chickpeas.

I could eat chickpeas all day. I could eat them alone. I could eat them with lots of other stuff. Well, maybe not in my cereal. I'm pretty particular about what goes into my cereal bowl. If it's not Great Grains, it doesn't have a chance of getting into my cereal bowl.

Speaking of my cereal bowl...HOLD IT! You've gotten me off track again...we're supposed to be talking about filling up your candy/nut serving bowl with this delicious snack instead.

Your Ingredients:

1 (15 to 15-1/2 ounce) can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained very well and thoroughly dried with paper towels
1-tbsp plus 3 additional tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2-cup shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4-cup raw whole almonds
1/4-cup raw hazelnuts (filberts)
1/4-cup raw macadamia nuts
1-1/2-tbsp coarse sea salt
2-tbsp cayenne pepper (okay, okay…don’t be a baby!)
1-1/2-tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1-1/2-tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF.

IN a large bowl, toss the ‘thoroughly dried’ chickpeas with 1-tablespoon of olive oil and make sure all of the chickpeas are well coated. (I can’t emphasize the drying part enough…you will bite into soggy chickpeas if they don’t start out dry enough before they go into the oven the very first time)

SPREAD chickpeas on a foil-lined cookie sheet in an even layer.

PLACE sheet into the oven and bake until golden, about 30-35 minutes.

REMOVE from the oven and pour them back into the bowl that you tossed them in.

ADD the additional 3-tablespoons of olive oil along with the remaining ingredients and toss everything until everything is well coated.

SPREAD chickpeas and nuts on the foil-lined cookie sheet and bake until everything is golden, about 10-12 minutes. Be careful not to burn!

REMOVE from the oven and allow to cool, then place in your favorite pretty snack dish.

Always Enjoy!