I wish I could say that I came up with the brilliant idea to bake chickpeas, but alas, I cannot. The truth is I was getting ready for work one morning and overheard Mark Bittman talking about this healthy snack on the Today Show. I don’t know why I never considered baking chickpeas!

On my way home that evening I stopped by the store and purchased two cans. I mixed the chickpeas with some olive oil and zatar spice and baked until crispy. The perfect quick and easy snack food! My next batch? A Mexican chili and lime version.

Here’s how to whip up this healthy snack:

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My good friend, Amy (food lover, caterer, organic gardener, food show radio producer, and all around girl about town), gave me this recipe for a Turkish garbanzo (aka chick pea) salad and I just had to share it with you. She prepared it for a recent catering gig she did and it was a huge success.

“The beauty of this recipe,” she says, “is that you can really dink with the proportions. Love fruit in your salad? Add more apricots. Want a bit more heat? Add some chili flakes.” So play around with it a bit until you get the taste you really like the most. Delicious served with Moroccan mint tea.

Turkish Garbanzo Salad

3 – 15 oz. cans garbanzo beans (or approximately 6 cups)
One small red onion, diced
Large bunch of Italian parsley
¾ cup dried Turkish apricots, sliced
1/3 cup kalamata olives pitted
½ cup olive and sunflower oil blend
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ tablespoon garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ Tablespoon dried oregano
½ Tablespoon dried marjoram
½ Tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Rinse and drain the beans. Whisk together dressing: vinegar, oil, garlic, Dijon, marjoram, oregano, paprika, salt and black pepper. Toss with beans. Chop onions and parsley. Slice apricots thinly. Add with kalamata olives (rinsed and drained) to bean/dressing mixture. Let marinate several hours before serving.

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