Everything you’ll need for baked chickpeas:
  • 500g chickpeas
  • 4 garlic cloves, whole
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • ½ tbsp freshly ground pepper
  • Water, as needed

Preparation:

Soaking:

  1. To prepare the baked chickpeas, you need to soak them in water first.
  2. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them with plenty of water, ensuring it rises well above the chickpeas.
  3. Stir and let them sit overnight. I recommend soaking them for about 12 hours. The chickpeas will swell and nearly double in size.
  4. The next day, rinse the chickpeas with clean water.
  5. Drain the chickpeas using a strainer and transfer them to a roaster or casserole dish.
  6. Insert the whole garlic cloves and bay leaves randomly among the chickpeas.
  7. Create a layer of sliced onions over the chickpeas.
  8. Add a layer of sliced tomatoes on top of the onions.
  9. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  10. Drizzle with the olive oil.
  11. Add enough cold water to just cover the chickpeas, and place the lid on the roaster.
  12. Optionally, you can seal the roaster by making a dough paste with a bit of water and flour, then sticking it around the edge of the lid to keep the moisture inside.

Baking:

  1. Preheat your oven to 170ºC.
  2. Bake the chickpeas in the preheated oven, on the lower rack, for 4 hours.
  3. After the baking time, check the chickpeas. If they have retained too much moisture, uncover the roaster and let them bake a bit longer until the liquid evaporates.
  4. The key to perfect baked chickpeas is slow cooking at a low temperature, which results in their deep flavor, rich color, and tender texture.

Enjoy!

Source: Argiro Barbarigou