Chicktons

Is that the worst name ever? I know. I’m sorry--I just couldn't resist the whole chickpea/crouton thing, plus it does have a certain Cajun ring to it, no? I’m also sorry that we’re going to skate abruptly here from the wild and icy canal of pink-haired gender politics into the placid rink of salad toppings. But you already knew it was like .

Chicktons! 

I love, love, love roasted chickpeas, and lately I’ve been adding them to salads instead of croutons. (Adding chickpeas, instead of croutons, to salad, that is. Not adding chickpeas to salads instead of adding them to croutons.) I crave the salt and crunch of croutons (which I have only ever made when we’re eating Caesar salad), but I’m so happy to be adding protein and B vitamins instead of grody dust and oil (the packaged kind of croutons) or yummy bread and oil (the homemade kind). These chickpeas can single-handedly (single-beanedly?) turn a salad into an actual meal. Plus, they’re ready in the time it takes me to wash and prep the lettuce, cukes, and radishes. Or, if we’re having Caesar salad, to sliver the romaine, grate the parmesan, and whisk together the mayo, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.

Romaine, arugula, radishes, cukes, feta, chicktons. Yum.

I am still using the odd tin of beans, despite my ongoing love affair with cooking them from scratch in my pressure cooker, which I do at least weekly. But I take seriously the worries, like Stephany's, about canned beans and the BPA (bisphenol A, an endocrine disrupting chemical) that leaches out of the can lining, and I would like to stop using them altogether. Food for thought. Speaking of which: how do we feel about dentists telling us to “coat” our kids’ teeth? Thoughts? Sorry. Salad. I’m sticking with the topic at hand. I am.

Edited to add: Eden Organics has no BPA in the linings of their bean cans. Thanks so much, rebecca, for mentioning that. Trader Joe's also appears to have no BPA in their cans, although they seem somewhat inconsistent about it. And Campbell's has pledged, somewhat nebulously, but still, to get the BPA out of their cans too. Way to go Stefany! But the teeth. . . the whole "my dentist says it's safe thing" doesn't move me, cynic that I am. That recent NYT article on early puberty in girls did mention, in passing, the BPA risk of dental sealants.

Chicktons

For general snacking, I do love getting them really crisp in the oven. But for salads, I love the softer crunch of these, done on the stovetop. Use a nonstick or well-seasoned pan, if you’ve got one.

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and spread to dry on a double thickness of paper towels

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste (but lots—like a teaspoon)

Garlic powder (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat until it is medium hot. Add the chickpeas in a single layer, salt them liberally, and leave them for a few minutes, unmolested by you and your spatula, so they can start to turn a bit golden on the bottom. Now start flipping and turning them every so often, shaking the pan around, until the chickpeas are as crisp and brown as they could be without burning. This will take 10-15 minutes. Add a sprinkle of garlic powder, if you’re using it, then taste for salt and remove the chickpeas to a paper-towel lined dish to cool a bit before their introduction to the salad.

That's it! Except for the kind of grody-looking bottle of garlic powder I seem to be using and didn't photograph. Garlic powder gives me a little flush of shame. Thanks for loving me through it.

Nature's Promise to disrupt your endocrine function! Look at all those chubby little buttpeas.

They're crowded in the pan at first.

But they lose volume as they roast.

You'll need to taste them very many times to determine when they're done. Very many times.

Close up, they're kind of terrifying.

But look at them on that salad! Gorgeous.

I was feeding lunch to my friend Jennifer, hence the rings and pretty hands. Don't worry, my hands still look like your grandpa's.