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Chickpea flour pancake with avocado and cilantro
A chickpea flour pancake that is quick and easy to make, filled with avocado and accompanied by salad is perfect for a light lunch - with the protein from the chickpeas!
Makes 1 big pancake (in a 10" skillet)
Chickpea (garbanzo) flour - 1/3 cup
pinch of turmeric
pinch of black pepper (the synergy between turmeric and black pepper intensify the anti-inflammatory effect of the first apparently!)
pinch of salt
2 ml1/2 tsp baking powder
warm water - about 1/3 cup and one tbsp
pinch of salt
Olive oil (as I am Italian!, but I guess you can use whatever oil you want)
half avocado
a handful of coriander leaves
lemon or lime juice
Sift the chickpea flour in a bowl with the baking powder, turmeric and pepper.
In a cup dissolve the salt with warm water. Pour the water on the flour, mixing well as it tends to make lumps. You may have to experiment with the amount of water, the first time I made this it was too thick, it should be bit more liquid than pancakes, but not too much...
Let rest for a few minutes and in the meantime prepare the avocado - it's a very simplified version of guacamole, so again, do as you like! I simply mashed it with loads of coriander and lemon juice.
Heat a skillet (I used a cast iron one)
When very hot pour a little bit of oil and lower the heat. Pour the batter and cook 2 minutes then flip the pancake and cook another 2 minutes. When I use the cast iron skillet I turn the flame off a little before and leave the pancake in -
Spread the avocado, roll up the pancake and enjoy! I would have put some tomatoes with it but didn't have any.
I just had lunch and it was so lovely that I thought I have to share the recipe:) it was ready in about 20 minutes- unfortunately for you I am a "wind in the air" kind of cook, which means I go by feel and not by measurement - so these are very rough measurements, but I am sure that there are recipes with precises doses out there on the net. -
There is some good protein in the chickpea flour, so one of these with a nice salad makes for a great quick lunch. I think next time I will add a bit of spices and maybe fill it with some dryish vegetable curry, a bit like a dosa.
Chickpea flour is used widely in the Liguria region of Italy -: farinata, like a pancake but much thicker and with oil and rosemary in the batter, (when I was spending my summers in Liguria in my late teens, we used to go around 6 pm for an aperitivo and have a slice of it just out of the woodfired oven with a glass of chilled white wine :) - and panissa (more widely known in the US as panisse - which is the south-east of France version of it. (Nice - which is only a short distance from the Italian border) - this is a quick and easy variation of the farinata, much thinner so it can be rolled like a tortilla.
The batter can be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge.