Grain-free    &&    Low-fat    &&    Vegan option

I have been a bit obsessed with pancakes lately. Of course they need to be made with chickpea flour, and be low- to no-fat, but beyond that, anything goes! This pancake is something I’ve been making for dinner; it’s a little sweet as it’s made with grated carrots, but it’s not sweet like a breakfast pancake (there’s no additional sweetener). It’s topped with spicy, savory charred green beans and cherry tomatoes. I am going to be very sad when those bright plump cherry tomatoes go out of season (in about two seconds from now), but maybe I’ll find something else for the fall or winter to substitute that goes just as well.

For now, I’ve been making extra green beans and cherry tomatoes (about 1 ½ times the amount given in the recipe below) and using the extra to top a good red lentil dal.

The recipe for the pancake is roughly based on Anna Jones’s carrot pancake in her excellent book “A Modern Way to Cook“. The charred vegetable recipe is adapted from the recipe “Blistered Green Beans and Tomatoes with Honey Harissa and Mint” from the New York Times Cooking.

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Carrot Chickpea Flour Pancake with Charred Green Beans and Tomatoes

Bits:

     Carrot chickpea flour pancake: 

• 150g chickpea flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk of choice
• 2 medium (~200g) carrots, peeled and grated (you should have ~125g, or 1 ½ cups after peeling and grating)

     Green beans and cherry tomatoes: (hint: make extra to eat on top of your favorite dal!)

• 1 lb green beans
• 10-12 oz cherry tomatoes
• 2 tsp berbere spice mix (use extra if you like extra spice; substitute a mild curry powder if you don’t like much spice)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• ½ tsp honey

To finish:

• Plain Greek yogurt (optional) for serving
• Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Algorithm:

Move oven rack to highest position, and preheat broiler on high.

First start the pancake cooking: Combine all pancake ingredients. Preheat a 12” non-stick frying pan / skillet on medium-high. When hot, if your pans have lost a lot of their non-stick-ness like mine have, add a teaspoon of reduced fat butter, or oil of choice and swirl it around the pan as it melts to create a better non-stick surface. Pour the batter into the frying pan and smooth it around with a spoon or spatula. Cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low. Let cook undisturbed for at least 20 minutes. The pancake is done with when the top is dry all the way across. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, start a medium saucepan of water boiling. Chop ends off of green beans and cut into desired size pieces. Boil green beans for 4 minutes and refresh in cold water.

Halve the cherry tomatoes (unless they’re already tiny).

Combine the berbere spice mix, salt, lime juice, and honey in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the green beans and cherry tomatoes on top. Pour over the berebere mixture and toss until the beans and tomatoes are evenly coated. Spread the beans and tomatoes out into a single layer on the baking sheet and place under broiler. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Check the contents of the baking sheet often, as the difference in time between nicely charred and burnt to a crisp is surprisingly short under a hot broiler.

To serve, slide a spatula under the pancake to loosen it from the pan. Once it’s loosened place a large dinner plate or serving plate over the pan and quickly and carefully flip the pancake onto the plate. Top with charred green beans and tomatoes, or alternately, slice the pancake like a pizza and let individuals top their portions with their desired amount of vegetables. For non-vegans, a dollop of plain greek yogurt is nice. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.