Crispy Baked Chickpea Fries with Tangy Wasabi and Sriracha sauces

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Have you tried Chickpea Fries yet? Let me tell you, they are the bomb! My first taste of chickpea fries was at a local restaurant called “Frankie We Salute You“. They are so delicious, we order them every single time we eat there. Dangerous. This post gives you the tools to make these Crispy Baked Chickpea Fries with Tangy sauces at home!

Chickpea fries are often deep fried, which is a cooking method I’ve never used. The fear of hot oil lighting on fire kinda creeps me out, and generally, I prefer to use as little oil as possible.
I made these fries numerous ways to test out the best flavour, texture and cooking method. After try number 7, I think I have found my favourite combo! Baking and airfrying are my family’s favored cooking methods. I usually use a combination of both for the same recipe, as, when using the airfryer, there is only a certain amount that the basket can hold. Chickpea fries are not durable, like potato fries, and can’t be tossed around while cooking. As for frying in oil, that’s just not cool… hard on the old arteries. And, honestly they don’t taste any better deep fried than they do baked.

Curious about Chickpea Fries, but not sure how the heck you would make fries out of tiny legumes?!

Chickpea Fries are made from mostly chickpea flour, which is just one ingredient… ground chickpeas. (Also known as garbanzo beans.)

They also contain water, nutritional yeast, (just because everything’s better with some “nooch”!), garlic powder, cumin, pepper and salt. The ‘batter’ is cooked on the stove, while being whisked, which transforms it into an interesting, gelatinous consistency, that is really easy to work with. If you are not a fan of one of the spices I have included, experiment with something different!

Is Chickpea flour good for me?

It sure is! It is literally just dried, ground chickpeas!

Chickpeas are anti-inflammatory, high in fibre, protein, minerals, vitamins, especially B-vitamins and folate. They are also naturally gluten free, keep you feeling full and enhance the good bacteria in your gut. (1)

How do you make Crispy Baked Chickpea Fries?

It’s simple…

• sift flour and spices together
• stir flour into a pot of boiling water on the stove and blend with a hand blender for 5 minutes
• pour into a lightly oiled, square pan
• squish down with a piece of parchment paper
• place in the fridge for at least an hour, (or freezer for 15 minutes)
• flip pan over onto parchment lined baking sheet
• cut into 1/2 inch fries
• brush with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or oil of choice) (this is optional if you are oil free)
• bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through
  

Crispy Baked Chickpea Fries with Tangy Wasabi and Sriracha dipping sauces

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Serves: 3-4 (makes around 25 fries) Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes on stove, then 20 minutes to bake 5 minutes on stove, then 20 minutes to bake

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups water, with 1 teaspoon of olive oil (optional)
• 1 cup chickpea flour (also known as garbanzo bean flour)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing on fries before baking, optional)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• DIPPING SAUCES: (MIX TOGETHER...)
• GARLIC WASABI SAUCE:
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream (store-bought, or homemade)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• OR
• SRIRACHA SAUCE:
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream (store-bought or homemade)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha spice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium sized pot, bring 2 cups of water with one teaspoon of oil to a boil.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour, nutritional yeast, and spices.
   
3. Next, using a sieve, sift the ingredients into another bowl to get rid of any clumps in the flour.
   
4. Now, you will need to mix the flour mixture into the boiling water. I found that whisking the flour in the water for 5 minutes was exhausting, so I use a hand blender instead!
   
5. Reduce the heat to medium low and slowly add the flour mixture into the boiling water. Using the hand blender, slowly increase the speed to high as the flour is all added to the pot. Set a timer to blend for 5 minutes.
6. Once the mixture has been blended for 5 minutes, remove the pot from the heat.
7. Using a spatula, quickly pour the mixture into an 8"x8" or 9"x9", lightly oiled, glass or metal baking pan. The mixture will get really sticky here, so work quickly. Tap the pan on the counter to encourage the mixture to flatten out. Use a piece of parchment paper, the same size as the pan, to further flatten out the top. It's not going to be perfect, but that is okay. It only means that one 1/4 of the fry will be slightly wonky... That seems to fit into the reality of life. 😉
8. Place the parchment paper over the top of the mixture. 
9. Now, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to cool. In a pinch, I have placed it in the freezer for 15 minutes, (make sure to set a timer!) and that seemed to work just fine.  Alternatively, I have recently found that if you pre-make the batter ahead of time and leave in overnight in the pan, they turn out even better!
10. Next, turn the pan upside down onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  The mixture should come right out.  Slice in half lengthwise, then cut the fries into 1/2 inch strips, trying to keep all sides the same size. 
11. Using one tablespoon of oil and a brush, or your fingers, lightly oil both sides of the fries. Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, flip each of the fries and bake for 10 minutes more.  If you prefer to use an airfryer, line the base with fries and cook at 380 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.  
12. Serve immediately with one (or both) of the dipping sauces above! It's fun to make a half recipe of each. 

                                                  www.thevibrantveggie.com

If you are not sure what to eat with these fries, these burgers recipes below might light you up!

(1) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/chickpeas-nutrition-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2