{Vegan} Bacon-Roasted Chickpea Snacks

Confession:  I don't love popcorn.  It gets stuck in my teeth.  It has little flavor, unless doused in butter.  I'd prefer to eat my butter straight, by the stick.  So I've been looking for a healthy movie snack.  And I think I might have found it:  Bacon-Roasted Chickpeas. 

I adapted a recipe from CoinnisseurusVeg.  Which is to say, I added Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning because, Why not?  Seriously, don't you like your weekend breakfast bacon on an everything bagel?  The flavors are naturally complementary.  Although I don't eat meat, I've been growing accustomed to the umami flavoring of smoke.  This recipe utilizes it to its best effect.  I can absolutely see serving these as an appetizer on the back patio alongside a good Merlot and the traditional cheese and dried apricot tray. 

Another thing I love about this homemade snack is the scale.  One can of chickpeas makes just enough for one person to graze upon.  If you're making this for a family movie night, I definitely suggest tripling the recipe.  Or quadrupling it.  Or even just for yourself.  The original recipe suggested using a 9x13 baking pan or jelly roll sheet pan, but I found my small plate and toaster oven perfectly sized.  I first made the marinade/brine in a bowl large enough hold the beans.  As I rinsed the canned chickpeas and removed the coating, I dropped them into the brine, whisking every once in a while.  It took ten or fifteen minutes to de-hull the entire can, so by the time I'd finished, most of the chickpeas had been marinating for a while.  I think this "soaking time" made the snack extra flavorful.  My addition of bagel seasoning was mildly successful -- the sesames and chunky herbs didn't stick to the beans, but I do think they flavored them.  And the seasonings will be in the handful at the bottom of the bowl.  Next time I may add the bagel seasoning after the chickpeas are roasted so that they don't get burned. 

One final note:  I think this is the type of recipe that takes repeat practice to know your own oven and the level of crunchiness you like in your snack.  I don't like overly dry, hard nuts, so I tended towards under-baking these for the first time around.  Also, I thought they might (air) dry out a little more in the few days before I take them to the movie theater.  Having experimented, I think I'll roast them a little longer next time around.  But you may feel differently.  And you may be working with a regular oven, rather than my toaster version. 

Bacon-Roasted Chickpeas

1 Can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Liquid Smoke

1 Tsp Maple Syrup

1 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tbsp TJ's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Mix all liquids in a bowl big enough to hold the beans.  Remove the hulls from the chickpeas after rinsing them, placing the beans in the marinade, and whisk occasionally.  Lastly, add the bagel seasoning.  Mix all to coat.  Dump the beans in a pan or plate with a lip.  Pour any remaining liquid over the beans.  Spread flat as possible.  Roast at 350 for about 40 minutes, stirring every ten minutes for the first half hour.  After 30 minutes stir at five minute intervals.  Let cool before storing in tupperware or glass jar.