Chickpea scramble with hemp seeds - Two ways

When I mentioned my recent purchase of hemp seeds, several of you expressed interest in how the seeds could be used. Following on from my sweet recipe for orange and hemp seed energy balls, today's post features two variations on chickpea scramble that incorporate hemp seeds in the mix: tomato, paprika and turmeric scramble, and carrot and coriander scramble.

Tomato, paprika and turmeric scramble

I love chickpea scrambles for their versatility and often make them as part of a meal for Mini Bite. They are good for little hands to pick up and I like that they can be varied to include whatever ingredients I have in the house, whilst keeping a core base that provides carbohydrate and protein. By adding hemp seeds you get healthy fats too.

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Herby lemon and pea fritters

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I am rather proud of these fritters. I made them on a whim, without a recipe, and surprised myself with how well they turned out. They taste of spring: fresh, lemon-y, light yet satisfying, and a little bit fluffy.

These take some of my staple ingredients (like besan flour and chia seeds) and give them a new twist, thanks to the lemon and fresh basil and parsley. The fritters come together quickly and make an easy meal if paired with salad. 

I used mashed sweet potato in these, but in future I would probably use regular potato. You can't really detect the sweet potato flavour and potato seems a better match for the other ingredients. However, either would work and you could even try mashed squash or celeriac.

I think these are best warm from the pan, but they will also keep for a few days in the refrigerator and are enjoyable cold or reheated.

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Chickpea, apple and pepper scramble

Chickpea flour (besan flour) is one of those ingredients I almost always have in the cupboard, and really enjoy using, but also forget about for months on end. Having just remembered its existence, you may find that it appears more regularly again over the coming months.

Whilst I've long enjoyed chickpea flour, it took me a while to try chickpea scrambles. I think I was put off by the comparisons to scrambled eggs, which were never my favourite food. However, once I did venture into scramble territory, I was an immediate convert. There is a parallel to scrambled eggs in the style and form of the dish, but the flavours are completely different (in my mind, very much better!).

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Fluffy pear and besan flour pancakes with a caramel pear sauce

I have had the concept of a sweet pear and besan flour dish in mind for some time now. I'm not sure where the idea came from, but it is an idea that got stuck! I thought about making a cake or slice, but in the end these pancakes won out. It helped that I could eat them for breakfast. I'm not averse to the idea of cake for breakfast, but it is a bit harder to justify.

These feature spelt flour as well as besan, in equal parts. I added baking powder for a fluffy, thick texture, and cinnamon and vanilla just because. Apple cider vinegar helps with the fluffiness too.

There is pear within the pancakes, but I served these with a caramel pear sauce as well. It is easy to make, although a food processor or blender is required. Simply blitz dates and fresh pear until smooth, and - voila! With that said, if you aren't in the mood for blitzing ingredients first thing in the morning, maple syrup could provide an alternative.

I highly recommend serving these with berries, but if you can't get hold of any, stewed fruit would work as well.

Fluffy pear and besan flour pancakes with a caramel pear sauce

A sweet spin on besan flour, perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast

Vegan, low fat and wheat free (although note that spelt does contain gluten)

Makes 6 thick pancakes

Small blender or food processor required for the sauce

Author: Bite-sized thoughts

Print recipe

Ingredients

For the pancakes

50g (1/3 metric cup) besan flour (chickpea flour)

50g (1/3 metric cup) spelt flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

165ml (2/3 metric cup) unsweetened almond milk, or milk of choice

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pear, chopped into small pieces

Oil spray, for cooking

For the sauce

4 dates (mine were regular dried dates, not medjool)

1 pear, roughly chopped

Berries or stewed fruit, to serve

Method

Combine the flours and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the vinegar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon and whisk well. Add the pear pieces and stir through. Allow to stand while your pan heats.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and spray with oil. When hot, use a ladle or 1/4 cup to scoop batter into the pan. Tilt the pan to distribute evenly, but don't distribute too thinly - think hotcakes rather than crepes. Cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping and repeating for the other side. The pancakes should be golden when cooked. Repeat for the remaining batter.

While the pancakes are cooking, blitz the dates and pear in a small blender or food processor (I used a Nutribullet), until smooth.

To serve, layer the pancakes with a dessertspoon of the caramel pear sauce between each layer. Use a spoon to drizzle more sauce over the pancake stack. Serve with berries or other fruit. 

 What is your favourite way to use besan (chickpea) flour?

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Beetroot and chickpea curry, in besan flour flatbreads

I am not the biggest fan of beetroot. I will happily embrace it in chocolate beetroot brownies, or in spiralised form for raw Thai noodles, but eaten plain it is not generally my thing.

For whatever reason, I made an exception last week. The lovely thing about local market stalls is they inspire me to buy different products: in season vegetables have great appeal even if the vegetable in question is not usually my favourite. Beetroot caught my eye recently, and then I needed to decide what to do with it.

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Chickpea pancake with spicy kale and mango

I didn't intend to share two mango breakfasts this week. In fact, my original plan for this dish was a chickpea pancake with a kale and apple filling. I was going to saute the apple until soft, and perhaps add some nutmeg or cinnamon to the mix. However, it is mango season here - despite the mangoes being imported because the UK is not at all a tropical country - and last week I bought 5 mangoes for £1 ($1.70). I hope you'll forgive me for indulging in as much mango as I can.

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Chickpea pancakes with a lentil-vegetable filling

I'm sure I'm not the only one to live with a person who does't love legumes. Mr Bite will tolerate them, most of the time at least, but they are definitely seen as something that I like and he does not.

Burritos and quesadillas are one way that I can dish up legumes (usually black beans in those examples) and be met with delight, rather than mild despair. I am pleased to say that this dish is another.

Chickpea pancakes with a lentil-vegetable filling

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Chickpea pancakes

There have been a lot of pancake recipes around over the past few days. Other, more organised bloggers remembered it was Shrove Tuesday yesterday and planned and pancake-d accordingly.

I'm not in that category.

These pancakes, you see, are from last week. Made with no thought of Shrove Tuesday whatsoever.

What's more, they were prompted by a sudden realisation regarding the best before date on this packet.

A 'best before' date of January 2012. Which, when discovered in February 2012, is perhaps not entirely convenient. Fortunately, it is well established that 'best before' is not the same as 'use by' and so I was determined to get at least one meal out of this before it really does pass its best.

I bought the besan flour last year after being inspired by various recipes for chickpea flour crackers and chickpea flour pancakes (also known as pudla). Most of these recipes are firmly in the savoury category, often with vegetables or spices included in the mixture. Last week I wanted something plainer, more like a regular pancake base, and so those bookmarked savoury recipes remain bookmarked for another day.

You see, I grew up with the tradition of having dessert pancakes for dinner once or twice a year. This was often a holiday treat, or done on a weekend when we'd already had a substantial lunch. I was in the mood for this last week, and wanted my chickpea pancakes to provide a blank canvas for whatever fillings I came up with, sweet or savoury.

In the end, this super easy recipe from Food and Wine provided my base. I effectively just halved their recipe and omitted the pepper, to give 1 cup besan flour, 1 cup + 2 tbsp water, and a pinch of salt. I used spray oil to coat the frying pan rather than adding oil to the mixture. These quantities gave three large pancakes.

I find pancakes surprisingly filling, so started off with two of the three. 

The first two were flavoured with tahini and plain nonfat yoghurt (my nod to a savoury filling), and maple syrup. Both were enjoyable, and the tahini / yoghurt one particularly so.

It turns out, though, that chickpea pancakes are deceptively light. Or at least, they were to me.

After the first two pancakes, I felt hungry enough to finish the third one with strawberry jam. About 15 minutes after the third one, though, I realised that perhaps two would have been just fine. These definitely have the traditional pancake trick of expanding after they are in one's stomach!

Looking at the nutritional information for besan gave me some insight into this experience. Although besan flour and plain flour are similar in terms of overall energy (about 380 calories per 100g), besan flour has twice as much protein: approximately 22g per 100g vs. 11g per 100g in plain flour.

Fullness and nutritional information aside, I was really happy with these. They are not traditional pancakes and I can see that they would be better suited to savoury flavourings - I will definitely be trying that in the future. They have a slight earthy taste, with a depth of flavour that defies the short ingredient list, and would also pair well with soup or stews.

All in all, I'm glad I got to the flour before it truly was past its best!

Have you experimented with besan flour?

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