Savoury pancakes are seriously on my latest obsession! Especially when made with chickpea flour. If you have never use it or not really familiar with it, please give it a go! It’s a very dense flour so you definitely need to add a bit of bicarbonate to make the pancakes go a bit fluffier. When I am feeling super lazy I just serve them with some mashed avocado and some chopped tomatoes, so simple but so delicious and filling at the same time.
If you have some extra time on hand I would highly recommend to make this pumpkin/red lentils puree. It adds a lovely creaminess and sweetness and it’s also great on its own.
Serves 2-3 people (depending on how hungry you are)
Ingredients:
For the chickpea pancakes:
1 cup of chickpea flour (also called Gram flour)
3/4 cup of water
A pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
For the pumpkin puree:
About 1 cup of pumpkin or butternut squash cubes
1/3 cup of dried red lentils
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1tbsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of miso paste (optional but it will add lots of flavour)
Salt to taste
For the tomatoes:
About 250-300 gr of cherry tomatoes
A glug of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Start by making the pumpkin puree. Place the pumpkin cubes onto a baking tray. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle some salt & pepper. Bash the garlic clove with skin on. Add them to the tray and bake the pumpkin in the oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes until soft.
At the same roast the tomatoes as well. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half
While the pumpkin is baking cook the red lentils. Rinse the lentils very well under the water and add them to pan. Cover them with water and cook them for 15-20 minutes until soft and mushy. Add more water to the pan if the lentils look like they have absorbed all the water and they are drying out.
Once cooked drain the lentils and add them to a food processor. Remove the pumpkin from the oven. Squish the garlic out of their skin and add them to the food processor together with cooked pumpkin. Also add in the cumin, turmeric powder, lemon juice, miso paste and salt to taste. Blitz until you have a creamy and fairly smooth puree. Leave it onto one side while you are making the pancakes.
In a large bowl mix the chickpea flour with the salt and bicarbonate of soda. Gradually add in the water and start mixing with a whisk to avoid any lumps. Mix until you have a smooth pancake batter.
Heat up a little bit of oil on a non stick pan and once hot add in about 2 spoonfuls of the pancake batter to create a round pancake. Repeat the process until you have used all the batter.
Serve the pancakes while still warm with a dollop of the pumpkin puree on top and the roasted tomatoes.
The pancakes are best eating them while still warm If you have any leftovers you can still enjoy them the next day. They tend to go a bit hard when cold but pop them in the toaster and they will still be delicious.