Chilli Salt Crunchy Snack Mix with Roasted Chickpeas

Difficulty: Easy | Prep: 10 min | Cook: 35 min | Total: 45 min | Serves: 6 | Dietary: Gluten-Free

Shop-bought snack mix is mostly stale pretzels and regret. This one starts with a tin of chickpeas and ends up rattling in the bowl like a packet of chips. The trick is tossing everything with Chooki's Chilli Chicken Salt while it's still hot off the tray, so the seasoning grabs on instead of sitting in the bottom of the bowl.

Step 1: Dry the Chickpeas

Heat the oven to 200C fan-forced. Tip the drained chickpeas onto a clean tea towel and roll them around until they look dull and dry. Any loose skins that come off, chuck them. Wet chickpeas steam instead of crisping, and that is the whole ball game here. Spread them on a lined tray and toss with 1 and a half tablespoons of the oil.

Step 2: Roast Until They Rattle

Roast for 30 minutes, giving the tray a good shake every 10. You want them golden and hard enough that they rattle when you shake the tray. Add the cashews and pepitas for the last 8 minutes only, or the nuts will go bitter.

Step 3: Season While Hot

Tip the lot into a big bowl straight from the oven. Drizzle over the last of the oil, then sprinkle on the chilli salt and smoked paprika and toss hard. Let it sit for 10 minutes to cool and crisp up, then fold through the rice crackers so they stay unbroken.

Tip: Leave the lid off the jar for the first hour. Trapped steam is what turns a crunchy chickpea into a chewy one overnight.