These spicy, crispy chickpeas are our new best friend in the kitchen. They should be yours as well! Quite the all-rounder, they’re delicious on their own, perfect as a snack, a party nibble, a topping for soup or creamy hummus, and, best of all, tossed through a salad to turn it into a meal. The variations are endless: add them to chopped cucumbers and radish, to shredded cabbage and carrots, to soft leaves and peas, or, as here, to roast courgettes and tomatoes.
A salad of air fryer crisp chickpeas, courgettes and tomatoes
Any spice mix you have works as long as it’s punchy, or you customise a blend to suit your palate – if you like chilli, there’s no limit to how much heat these can take.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
For the crispy chickpeas
400g tin chickpeas, drained, rinsed in boiling water, then patted dry
Olive oil
1 tsp ras al hanout spice mix
A sprinkle of salt
For the salad
5 baby courgettes, or 2 large ones
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
A sprinkle each of chilli flakes and cumin seeds
Salt
10-12 cherry tomatoes
1 baby gem lettuce
100g ricotta
1 lemon, juiced
Put the strained, washed and dried chickpeas into the air-fryer crisper dish and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Set the air-fryer to 210C/410F, put the chickpeas in and, after 10 minutes, transfer them to a bowl, sprinkle with the spice mix and salt, toss well to coat all over, then set aside.
While the chickpeas are cooking, cut the courgettes into really thick wedges, drizzle with a little olive oil, add the garlic, chilli flakes, cumin seeds and salt, and toss well. As soon as you take out the chickpeas, add the courgettes to the air fryer.
Cook for eight minutes, open, shake, add the cherry tomatoes and cook for a further two minutes.
Cut the baby gem lengthways into wedges, put in a large serving bowl and, as soon as the courgettes and tomatoes are ready, top the lettuce wedges with the roasted vegetables, sprinkle with the crisp chickpeas and dollop the ricotta all over.
Squeeze as much lemon juice as you like over the whole lot, plus another small drizzle of olive oil, and serve warm.
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