Crispy Chickpea Pancakes With Roasted Mushroom Salad

The NYT recipes now state the brand of salt because Diamond Crystal, commonly used in professional kitchens, is less dense in volume that other salt such as Morton Kosher, so if Morton is used then 1/2 the amount should be used. Of course, one should use the amount your taste prefers.

Probably not good with a nonstick pan at that heat. They also tend to have plastic handles which ought not to go in the oven. I'd suggest cast or carbon iron pans. I've also cooked these successfully on the stove top-- they can be flipped, carefully, after they've set up quite a bit on the bottom.

You don’t need to use the oven. You can just fry them and flip like pancakes. By adding the oil to the batter you can get them crispy in a non stick pan. The whole operation is very forgiving.

Thinking about adding hummus spices to the batter: cumin, garlic, cayenne.

Yes! A simple chickpea batter (chickpea flour + water + salt) left at room temperature ferments beautifully, and the result has a more open texture and much more flavor than the unfermented version. I've kept a jar going like this for a few weeks in a cool kitchen, making a pancake every other day or so and replacing what I've used.

Chickpea flour also known as garbanzo flour is common in Italian cooking. The Indian equivalent is called Besan or gram flour which is made from a slightly different legume than chickpea called Bengal gram. I find that is just as good in pancakes such as in this recipe. Besan is slightly less expensive than chickpea flour and is an easily found in Indian groceries or on Amazon. I buy it in 4 pound packages.

I’ve been making a similar version of socca. I like to mix sautéed onions, mushrooms, peppers, favorite spices and herbs right into the batter. I’ve had great luck adding a bit of baking powder, just for a slightly lighter texture. I get my oiled cast iron skillet really hot in the oven first, then pour in the batter and bake at 450. Delicious breakfast, and a nice vegan substitute for a frittata!

Looking for a savory breakfast, I started to make fritters this summer with all sorts of different combinations of veggies and batter mixtures. I freeze them, then reheat in the toaster and add an egg on top, sometimes with a bit of ham. Thank you very much for this recipe and your inspiration to keep exploring.

can this be done with a nonstick pan at 400 ?

I have had what is called "Puda" in the state of Gujarat in India all my life. It's a stovetop pancake made with Besan, which is the flour of gram chickpeas. You just add salt, pepper, and any other spices you like in the batter. We add finely chopped onion and cilantro sometimes. The pancakes are thin and about 6 in. in diameter. Taste great with ketchup or chutney.

I have been making Socca for years and this is similar. I like the mushroom addition. The socca is made in an oven proof non stick skillet . https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014757-socca-farinata?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Definitely do not use a non-stick pan. The key to the pancake lifting out of the pan is that the pan is well-oiled and very hot. Your non-stick would not take the heat. This is essentially the same recipe as Mark Bittman's socca, and he recommends heating the cast iron pan in the oven as the oven comes to temperature. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014757-socca-farinata?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1

I've been waiting to make these chickpea pancakes (Italian, French, Indian, whatever!) for years and this got me going for some reason. Don't laugh, but this is what I had for lunch today: A large pancake, beautiful and crispy on the surface. Top with a healthy shake of Trader Joe's "Everything But the Bagel mix. Then a tin of "wild-caught" mackerel distributed across. Made this savory guy happy. Later in week with the extra batter I put in the refrig: grilled shrimp and cilantro atop.

A trick to preventing lumps when mixing chickpea flour is to first moisten the flour to a paste. When this paste is stirred it eliminates the lumps and the remaining liquid can then be added producing an even creamy batter that has no lumps.

We are having an amazing wild mushroom season in the Hudson Valley! So we made this with a mixture of lion's mane, maitake, oyster, shrimp-of-the-woods, black trumpet and yellowfoot mushrooms. I had coincidentally picked up some Rondout Valley puntarelle at the farmers market, which Tejal suggested as a radicchio alternative, so I used that and it was fabulous!