Garbanzos Con Chile
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
4 c
dried chickpeas
5 tbsp
kosher salt, divided
2 qt
rice bran oil or canola oil
2 tbsp
nopalito spices or store-bought mexican chile powder
Nopalito Spices
1 oz
dried árbol chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 oz
dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
Garbanzos Con Chile
In his cookbook, Nopalito, Gonzalo Guzmán writes of the Mexican flavors and ingredients from his childhood which have made their way into his popular San Francisco restaurant.
Growing up in Mexico, fried chile-and-lime-spiced peanuts were the snack we would eat while hanging around, watching movies, or waiting for dinner. Since it is difficult to find organic peanuts in California (and they can be expensive), we tried the recipe with fried dried chickpeas instead. It works perfectly, and the crunchy, salty little chickpeas are addictive. While you can use store-bought chili powders, making your own is easy and the result is so much more flavorful. Feel free to play with the amount and type, such as upping the ratio of guajillos, which are less spicy than the chiles de árbol. This recipe will seem like it makes a ton of chickpeas while you are cooking, but don’t worry: the chickpeas will shrink down significantly when they fry.
4 cups
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the chickpeas to a large ovenproof pot, then fill with water. Add 3 tablespoons of the salt, cover the pot, transfer to the oven, and bake for 2 hours. Remove and drain completely in a colander. Let the chickpeas cool
- Set a medium-large heatproof bowl next to the stove. Add the oil to a large, deep-sided skillet or pot, and heat until it registers 350°F on a deep-fat thermometer. Add the chickpeas and let cook until golden-brown and crunchy, about 15 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon or spider skimmer, remove the chickpeas and transfer them to the bowl. While they’re still hot, mix them with the chili powder and the remaining 3 tablespoons salt. Let cool completely and serve. Will keep for 7 to 10 days stored in an airtight container.
nopalito spices
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place all of the chiles on a small baking sheet or large ovenproof skillet and transfer to the oven. Cook, turning the peppers every minute or so, until darkened and evenly toasted, 3 to 8 minutes (the timing will vary depending on the heat of your pan and the individual chiles). Remove and let cool completely.
- Transfer the chiles to a blender and grind into a powder, using a scraper or small rubber spatula to direct the chiles toward the blade (alternatively, grind in batches using a spice grinder). Store in an airtight container.
Reprinted with permission from Nopalito copyright 2017 by Gonzalo Guzman with Stacy Adimando. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
