Fried Chickpeas with Parsley Salad

I went to an "ethnic" potluck last night, but I wanted to make something up, so after a little brain storming I decided to use the deep fried chickpeas from Campagnolo Restaurant as inspiration for this dish. It must have turned out well as people were excited and asking for the recipe... so here it is! You can really use whatever spices you want. I did some up with curry and cumin and they were good, too, but the ones below were my fave. Takes maybe 35 minutes and makes a bit of a mess... wear an apron!


SALAD PREP
1 small onion
1 cup vinegar

For the salad bit you're going to fresh-pickle an onion, so dice it up and submerge it into a cup of vinegar.

FRIED CHICKPEAS
1 large can of chickpeas
1 egg beaten (may need two depending on size)
3/4 cup flour 2 Tbsp coriander seed
1 tsp ground cardamom
4 tsp white sugar
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup fresh mint shaved (cut into strips)
1/2 cup canola oil (or similar) for frying

Open, drain and rinse your chickpeas. Beat an egg into a sizeable flat dish. Cut up your coriander seed as best you can. They tend to go flying so if you can guard the edges of your cutting board, and dampen the cut with your hands, you'll make less mess. In a medium mixing bowl mix all the flour, chopped coriander seeds, ground cardamom, sugar and salt. You may wish to put half the mixture aside to have some fresh stuff for your second batch. Also cut up your mint have it ready. Put your oil in a frying pan and turn it on high. Make sure your hood fan is on and you have a lid nearby. You'll also want a bowl with paper towels on the bottom nearby to put the chickpeas in when they come out of the frying pan, and a slotted spoon or spatula for transferring them from the pan to this bowl.

Take about as many chickpeas as will fit along the bottom of the pan and coat them with egg. Then coat them thoroughly with the flour mixture. Ideally they'll all be separate little balls. Once the oil is hot (it'll start crackling a bit), remove the balls of chickpea from the flour and put them into the pan. Sprinkle some fresh mint over top. Put the lid on and let cook for 6-10 minutes - stir frequently to brown on all sides. Remove from heat and oil into the bowl with paper towel in it.
Repeat as necessary.


PARSLEY SALAD

1 fresh-pickled onion
2 cups chopped parsley
.5 diced red pepper
1 Tbsp avacado oil
1 Tbsp olive oil juice of
1 big lime

 Combine all the above into a salad. Serve with fried chickpeas on top.