Sami Tamimi's recipe for crispy, smoky chickpeas served with tahini and coriander sauce is based on the Middle Eastern snack, leblebi.

Smoky chickpeas with coriander tahini

Name: Smoky chickpeas with coriander tahini
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4 as a side or part of a spread
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: For the tahini sauce; 150g tahini; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 1 small garlic clove; ⅓ tsp salt flakes; 30g coriander, chopped, plus a few more leaves to garnish; For the smoky chickpeas; 2 x 400g tins 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; ¼ tsp salt flakes; 2 tbsp lemon juice

Portion size: Serves 4 as a side or part of a spread
Prep time 10 min. Cook time 30 min
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Gluten-free

Vegan

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Chef Sami Tamimi’s recipe for crispy, smoky chickpeas served with a tahini and coriander sauce is based on a favourite Middle Eastern snack and makes a great nibble for entertaining.

Traditional inspiration: “Qdameh (or leblebi) is a favourite Middle Eastern roasted chickpea snack,” says Sami. “The dish is believed to have come to the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe from Iran around the fifteenth century and 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 but somehow these scrumptious things have gone out of fashion nowadays.”
Sami’s version: “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. Or serve the chickpeas on their own as a healthy snack or to accompany drinks.”

Recipe taken from Boustany (Ebury Press £30, out 19 June) and tested by delicious.

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Ingredients

For the tahini sauce

150g tahini
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
⅓ tsp salt flakes
30g coriander, chopped, plus a few more leaves to garnish

For the smoky chickpeas

2 x 400g tins 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
¼ tsp salt flakes
2 tbsp lemon juice

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Method

First, make the tahini sauce. Put the tahini in a small bowl along with 120ml water, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Use a spoon or a small whisk to mix the ingredients until they’re completely combined and form a thick and pourable paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more lemon juice and salt, if needed.
Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Put the chickpeas in a medium bowl with the olive oil, spices and 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.
Put the tahini sauce and coriander in a blender or food processor and whizz for a couple of minutes until it forms a smooth paste.
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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.