Smoky chickpeas with coriander tahini

Qdameh or leblebi are believed to have come to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe from Iran around the fifteenth century. Qdameh is a favourite Middle Eastern roasted chickpea snack, which is eaten as you would eat salted nuts. As kids, we used to be able to buy them wrapped in a paper cone and snack on them on the way back from school.

Somehow, these scrumptious things have gone out of fashion and are slightly harder to find nowadays. You can serve the chickpeas on their own and have them as a healthy snack or to accompany drinks. In a culinary twist, I sought to reimagine qdameh as deconstructed hummus, which is a simple yet elegant dish to kick off any meal or serve as a starter. Picture it: a platter filled with za’atar & anise crackers (page 246) or bread alongside a plate of these delicious roasted, chickpeas.

Serves: 4 as a side, or part of a spread

INGREDIENTS

• 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• ¾ tsp smoked paprika
• ¾ tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or regular dried chilli flakes)
• ¾ tsp sweet paprika
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 batch of tahini sauce (page 32)
• 30g fresh coriander, chopped, plus a few more leaves to garnish

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
   
   
2. Put the chickpeas into a medium bowl with the olive oil, spices and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and mix well. Spread the chickpea mixture on a lined baking dish and roast for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from the oven, sprinkle over the lemon juice, mix and leave to cool.
   
   
3. Place the tahini sauce and coriander in a free-standing blender or food processor and mix for a couple of minutes, until they form a smooth paste.
   
   
4. When ready to serve, spread the tahini sauce on a serving plate, pile the chickpeas in the middle and garnish with a few coriander leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.