Ceci Friti: Take a healthy thing, and fry it!

Posted: April 5, 2010 | Author: Johanna | Filed under: Johanna | 5 Comments »

One of the dangers of being me is my susceptibility to suggestion. This afternoon, while watching “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on Food Network, I encountered Alton Brown’s mention of fried black-eyed peas. The idea began to roll around in my head, and before long I was wondering if I had enough time before the store closed to run next door and get supplies.
I happen to love chickpeas, and since I was unsure how this first try was going to go, I decided to go with a legume that I knew I would eat and enjoy either way. A cursory internet search gave me a method, so I went for it this afternoon, so Jesse and I could have a snack before we ate dinner while watching the Red Sox home opener! Yay, Baseball’s Back!!!

Ceci Friti
Fried Chickpeas

1. Take either 1 huge family-sized can of chickpeas or 2 smaller jars, and rinse them under cold water. Spread them out on a dishtowel, and rub them lightly. This serves to both dry them off a little, and rub off some of the chickpea skins. Heat 2 inches of oil in a saucepan over medium heat to a temperature of 375.

2. If you don’t want to really strive to peel all the skins off the chickpeas, you will suffer no ill effects. Skip straight to step 3. If not: Put your chickpeas back in the strainer, rinse again, and repeat the drying/rubbing step. I’ll let you know, though, that I spent longer picking skins off my chickpeas than I did making the fried chickpeas. So decide whether you want to waste your time on that or not – the skins get nice and crispy when fried.
3. Put roughly half your chickpeas into the oil, and fry for 5-7 minutes. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the rest of the chickpeas.

You’re looking for a nice golden brown. The chickpeas should be crispy, and you can decide whether you want them to be crispy all the way through (7 minutes), crispy only on the outside (5ish minutes), or somewhere in between. Taste and check.
4. While the chickpeas are frying, figure out how you want to season your chickpeas. I chose to go really basic, using salt, Old Bay, and lemon juice. This is partly because I love the taste of that combination, and partly because I wasn’t sure what a fried chickpea would taste like, so I wanted to go simple. I mixed together a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of OldBay – if you’re not into Old Bay, you can totally use paprika, garlic powder, cumin, anything else you’re looking for. Either way, when the chickpeas have drained for a couple minutes, but while they’re still hot, toss them with the seasoning blend in a bowl. I squeezed some lemon juice over the bowl after I finished mixing, and that worked really well – I highly recommend it.
Jesse and I ate this whole bowl. It’s absolutely more chickpeas than Jesse has eaten in non-falafel, non-hummus form in the entire time we’ve been together. The chickpeas come out incredibly crispy, and have just the right level of spice and salt. The lemon really freshens everything up, and as long as you remind yourself that the frying isn’t really that bad for you when you’re not battering whatever you’re frying…. you can totally consider these a healthy snack. Or at least, a healthy alternative to chips and salsa while you’re watching a game on tv!