Alton Brown's Clever Salad Spinner Hack For Roasted Chickpeas

Whether you're adding a low-carb "crouton" to your salad or are desperately craving a crunchy salty snack, roasted chickpeas check many boxes: They have the ability to absorb just about any flavor presented to them, add textural contrast to dishes, are easy to prepare, and boast a nutritional profile. Whether you call them chickpeas or garbanzo beans, Harvard T.H. Chan says there really is no difference between the two, besides "chickpeas" deriving from Latin, and "garbanzo" deriving from Spanish. However, these unique legumes have some characteristics worth mentioning, seeing that some may add a few steps to your chickpea roasting.

For starters, according to Live Eat Learn, chickpeas can aid in weight loss, as they're packed with protein and fiber and aren't loaded with calories, helping you consume more while keeping you full and satisfied for longer. Another fun fact is that while we typically only see the canned stuff at the store, you can buy them dried in bulk for nonstop chickpea snacking. Lastly, when it comes to roasting, Love and Lemons says rinsing the canned beans is important, but drying them afterwards is necessary. 

The drier they are, the crispier your chickpeas will roast up, and Food Network's Alton Brown has just the tactic for drying them efficiently.

After rinsing your chickpeas, instead of impatiently waiting for them to drain in a colander, or for your tea towels to soak up all that excess moisture, Alton Brown uses a salad spinner to make quick work of the task. In his Crunchy Chickpeas recipe, he dumps his can of chickpeas into a colander for proper rinsing before transfering the legumes to a salad spinner. From there, he turns them a few times, then spreads them onto a sheet pan coated in paper towels, tops them with more paper towels, and gently presses to rid them of that last bit of moisture. From there, he removes the paper towels, oils and seasons them, then goes on to roast them until crispy.

According to The Mediterranean Dish, another drying technique for when you don't have a salad spinner is simply letting them sit in a colander over the sink. This requires more time, but less arm work when continuously patting them dry with paper towels, and allows you to forget about them for a bit to work on another task. By the time you're ready for them, they're likely ready for you.