Savory Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Spinach

Thin, crispy-edged pancakes made from chickpea flour batter, studded with wilted spinach and scallions. They cook up golden in a hot skillet and taste nutty, savory, and just a little earthy. Serve them with a drizzle of tahini or hot sauce, or both if you're feeling bold. They're filling enough for breakfast or lunch, and you can have a stack ready in about half an hour.

By TasteBuds

Recipe details

Yield
2 people
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
15 minutes
Total time
30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chickpea flour (also called besan or gram flour)
  • 1¼ cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped (packed measure)
  • 3 whole scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (for cooking)
  • to taste tahini (for drizzling)
  • to taste hot sauce (for drizzling)

Instructions

  1. Roughly chop 2 cups fresh spinach (packed measure).
  2. Thinly slice 3 scallions (white and green parts).
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup chickpea flour (120 g), ½ tsp salt (3 g), ½ tsp ground cumin (1 g), and ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground (0.5 g).
  4. Pour 1¼ cups water (300 ml) into the bowl and whisk until the batter is smooth and has the consistency of thin pancake batter. Let it rest for 5 minutes so the chickpea flour can hydrate.
  5. Stir the 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped (60 g) and 3 scallions, thinly sliced into the batter.
  6. Heat a medium 10-inch skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil (15 ml). Swirl to coat the pan.
  7. Pour about ⅓ cup of the batter into the center of the skillet and quickly tilt the pan in a circular motion to spread it into a thin, even circle, about 7 inches across. The batter should sizzle gently when it hits the pan.
  8. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges start to lift and turn golden brown and the bottom is set and crispy. You'll see little bubbles forming on the surface.
  9. Flip the pancake with a spatula and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the second side is golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
  10. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding 1 tbsp olive oil (15 ml) to the skillet before each pancake. You should get about 4 to 5 pancakes total. Stir the batter gently before pouring each one, because the spinach and scallions tend to settle.
  11. Serve the pancakes warm, drizzled with tahini and hot sauce to taste.