Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

It was the late afternoon and my head was pounding and felt as though I was trying to lift a medicine ball on my neck. My head lolled forward and my back curved pinching the flesh and muscle. My throat was dry and my stomach distended.

I had a breadache.

Yup a headache brought on from eating too much bread. I couldn't help myself as it was a hotly anticipated loaf straight from the oven that had been luring me in for 30 minutes while it was baking. The smell was so intoxicating that I didn't even wait the requisite amount of time for the bread to cool before slicing it up.

Half an hour later my head was pounding and all I wanted was a nap. So that evening I decided to make something to snack on for supper in lieu of a full dinner. Spiced chickpeas are snacks that are often served as bar snacks and are often deep fried but a friend offered me her recipe for them where they are baked and all I wanted were those flavoursome little crunchy balls.

Her recipe uses just cumin, cayenne pepper and salt but I remembered the Union Square Cafe's nuts that also had rosemary and brown sugar so I adapted her recipe to include them. I wasn't sure how they would turn out as they were so easy to make but thankfully they were delicious. It felt as though I was eating a snack or chips for dinner but because they have so few ingredients and taste so good, I felt as though I was balancing my body from the bread-fest just a few hours before!

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever had a breadache? Do you ever want to have a nap just after a meal?

Roasted Spiced Chickpeas

An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

• 420g tin chickpeas
• 1.5 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry on two layers of paper towel.

**Step 2 - ** In a medium sized bowl mix the oil, honey, rosemary, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Toss the chickpeas in this mixture and then spread on a single layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Check the chickpeas after 20 minutes and toss around so that they cook evenly.