Healthy recipe: Chickpea crumbed fish with carrot

Spicy roasted chickpeas are a healthy, high-fibre snack and can be flavoured in a whole host of different ways – dusted with cocoa and cinnamon, scattered with lime zest and finely chopped chilli or rolled in spices, as they are in the recipe here. If you do decide to make the dish, it's well worth preparing a double batch of the chickpeas and keeping half of them in an airtight container; served as a pre-dinner nibble, they make a nice alternative to salted nuts and are less calorific.

Blitzing the chickpeas up to create a spiced crumb for the fish adds an interesting flavour and texture to the dish, which works well with the crisp, marinated raw vegetables (not cooking them also means they retain all their nutrients) and the fat-free dressing.

Chickpea crumbed fish with carrot and mustard seed salad (Serves 2)

For the chickpeas:

1 tin chickpeas

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

tsp chilli powder, or to taste

tsp caster sugar

For the fish:

2 x fillets sustainable white fish, skin removed

1 egg white

For the salad:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp water

cucumber

1 carrot

1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped

salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C/ fan 200C/ gas 7. Drain the chickpeas and blot dry with a paper towel. Tip into a bowl and toss together with the oil, spices and sugar. Season with salt and black pepper and spread out on to a baking tray in a single layer. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Tip the majority of the chickpeas into a blender (reserving a few for garnish) and blend well, before pouring out on to a large plate.

Reduce the oven temperature to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6. Place the egg white in a bowl and whisk briefly. Dip the fish fillets into the egg white, shake off the excess and then roll in the crushed chickpeas, until well coated on all sides. Place on a baking tray and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until just cooked through.

While the fish is in the oven, prepare the salad. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook for one to two minutes or until they start to splutter. Remove the pan from the heat, add the white vinegar and water, stir well and set aside.

Peel the skin away from the cucumber and discard, then continue to peel the cucumber into long thin ribbons. Place in a bowl and do the same for the carrot. Add the chopped shallot and sprinkle over the dressing, which should now be at room temperature. Toss well to coat.

Divide the salad between two bowls, arrange the fish on top and scatter over the reserved chickpeas.

Nutritional information for roasted chickpeas, per 92.0g

Calories: 370

Calories from fat: 106

Total fat: 11.8g

Saturated fat: 1.4g

Source: www.caloriecount.about.com

eshardlow@thenational.ae