Spinach & Garlic Chickpea Savory Pancakes with Sriracha Yogurt

I admit that when I first saw this week's Pancake theme with The Food Network's #ComfortFoodFest, I thought about ricotta pancakes studded with blackberries and one of my very favorites - soufflé pancakes scented with lemon and served with a berry compote. And then I remembered how much I love chickpea pancakes, and decided on a healthier, savory flapjack.

Chickpea pancakes, made with chickpea flour, are a little edgy here in the States, and frequently associated with vegans or vegetarians, but they're very popular along parts of the Mediterranean. When I was in the Italian region of Liguria a few years ago, I had them in the form of farinata, cooked in a huge skillet like one huge pancake in a wood burning pizza-like oven, and torn into large shards that we shared as an appetizer. It can also be found in southeastern France as common street food called socca.

They can be eaten plain and topped with sautéed vegetables, kalamata olives, sliced avocados, sour cream, or anything you want. Or shred some butternut squash and fold it into the batter and top with roasted red peppers. It's all good. Really good.

Cooking Tips

• Chickpea Flour is the same as Garbanzo Bean Flour. I'm a big fan of Bob's Red Mill for this.

• If you don't want to make the Rosemary Olive Oil, use plain extra-virgin olive oil and use ⅜ teaspoon - ½ teaspoon minced rosemary in the batter.

• The batter is a thinner than pancake batter and will spread quite a bit without being contained by the pan or a cake ring. Cake rings are incredibly versatile, and can be used for everything from fried eggs to appetizer molds. Using the molds, the pancakes end up being about ½" thick. There's nothing fancy about the 3" cake rings I use:

• I like a little crust to form on the pancakes before flipping, so don't be shy about doing this. It really adds to the savory flavor!

Print Recipe

4.25 from 4 votes

Spinach & Garlic Chickpea Savory Pancakes with Sriracha Yogurt

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time25 mins

Servings: 5 pancakes

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Pancakes

• ¾ cup chickpea flour also called garbanzo flour
• ¾ cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon finely minced rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon Pimentón de la Vera spice
• Few twists of fresh black pepper
• 2 tablespoon Rosemary Olive Oil
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
• 2 large garlic cloves minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• ⅓ cup very thinly sliced scallions
• ¼ cup slivered baby spinach leaves loosely packed

Sriracha Yogurt Topping (Optional)

• 2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
• ¾ teaspoon Sriracha sauce

Instructions

Pancakes

• Whisk the warm water into the chickpea flour until smooth. Add the salt, minced rosemary, Pimentón, and pepper and whisk again. Allow to sit on the counter for 15 minutes to allow for a complete absorption of the water by the chickpea flour.
• Whisk in the Rosemary Olive Oil and baking powder. You should have about 1 ¼ cups of batter.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a coated or very well seasoned sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and scallions until the garlic begins to brown and the scallions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir into the batter along with the spinach.
• Add the final tablespoon oil to the same pan and either pour in all of the batter to make a big pancake, or place small 3" baking rings on the pan and pour ¼ cup batter into each baking ring. Cook until small air holes begin to appear, about 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the rings and flip with a metal spatula. Cook for an additional minute.
• Serve warm with a salad.

Sriracha Yogurt Topping

• Stir together the yogurt and Sriracha in a small bowl and spoon a very small amount over the pancakes, or serve on the side.

Now go check out some casserole ideas to warm you up. And don't forget to check out the Food Network #ComfortFoodFeast Pinterest board!

Pancakes !!

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