Thursday, October 21, 2010

Cinnamon Maple Roasted Chickpeas & Mexican Pizza

A while back I found a recipe for honey roasted chickpeas. I didn't think that sounded so hot, but as time went on, I really wanted to try it. Since I cooked a big batch of chickpeas over the weekend, I decided I would try to make some maple roasted chickpeas instead of honey roasted.
The outcome was a success! Tony tried one, but made the worst face ever. He doesn't like chickpeas to begin with, so I wasn't surprised that he didn't like them. The whole texture thing gets to him...ha. For me though, I thought they were excellent!

2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons organic sugar

Lay the drained chickpeas out on a towel to dry for 15-30 minutes. Spray a nonstick cookie sheet with a nonstick cooking spray. After the chickpeas have dried, transfer them to the cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake on 325 for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium size bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, agave, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. In a grinder, grind the 2 tablespoons of sugar until it is in a powder form (I used a coffee grinder). After the chickpeas have cooked for 45 minutes, transfer them into the maple syrup mixture and stir until all the chickpeas are coated. Once the chickpeas are coated, sprinkle with the sugar, gently stirring until all the chickpeas are coated. Transfer the coated chickpeas back to the cookie sheet and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Watch closely though to make sure they don't burn. Take them out of the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet. I couldn't wait until they had completely cooled. I had to eat a few while they were still warm. They were the perfect afternoon snack today!

Last night for dinner, we had pizza. It's been a few weeks since we made pizza, so it was time. I used my leftover fajita veggies for my pizza. I added some spinach, tomato and veggie mozzarella cheese to it. So, I guess you could say that I had a veggie fajita pizza, and Tony had a chicken fajita pizza. :o) Left over Mexican veggies make for a great pizza topping!

~Peace~

10 comments:

  1. What an unusual chickpea recipe -- it sounds more suited for nuts than beans. You may want to try Tamari Roasted Chickpeas next for sprinkling on your salads.

    Nice looking pizza. Not as nice as yesterday's wrap, but still looks good.

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  2. Those chickpeas sound great. I've done them roasted savory before, but never spiced and sweet...I bet they are good, even on salads.

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  3. That is an interesting take on chickpeas. My hubby doesn't love roasted chickpeas either. It must be a guy thing.

    Nice use for the leftover fajita veggies. No wonder you like that restaurant it results in meals for days. ;-)

    Ali

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  4. Yum! I've never tried sweet chickpeas. Sounds great:)

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  5. I saw a sweet chickpea recipe on another blog and it looked good but I was not sure I would like it. I trust your description and photo though - looks good! I might have to give that a try.

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  6. I love roasted chickpeas but using a sweet topping is something I've never tried. It sounds good, though. The pizza look great. We had Mexican roasted veggies for dinner last night, and I can imagine the leftovers on a pizza. Yum.

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  7. Yum yum YUM! You really delivered on your chickpea-recipe promise in a DELICIOUS way!

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  8. Your chickpea recipe sounds amazing! Your pizza looks yummy too.

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  9. Great ideas for using up extra beans and leftover veggies. The pizza looks great!

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  10. My kids would really like those, too. I wish I had leftovers sometimes...my husband thinks that if there is something left, he must finish it. Sometimes in the middle of the night.

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