Chickpea Pancake, Porcini, Baby Onions and Almond Cream

 

Over the years this recipe has had many different incarnations, from thin crepes to little pancakes with types of various toppings.  Chickpea flour, sometimes called besan flour, is very versatile and perfect for gluten free dishes. It has great binding qualities and a distinct spice laden earthy flavour makes it perfect for spice based dishes, like the ever popular onion Bhaji.  As with all flours make sure that it is fresh as it tends to lose its aroma, flavour and nutritional qualities over time.  Chickpea flour in a great source of vegetable based protein and dietary fibre making it a versatile ingredient in the vegan and vegetarian diet.

Socca, as it is known in the Nice area in the south of France, is a traditional street food eaten on your feet with a drizzle of local olive oil.  I have tried to use this as a base for a substantial vegan main course, choosing a combination of ingredients that matched the earthy characters of the pancake, and that were in season at the time. Fresh porcini, sweet baby onions and creamy almond dressing.  You can top it with anything that you want, or nothing at all, eating it fresh from the pan if you like.

If fresh porcini are unavailable use meaty mushrooms like Swiss browns or large portobello as they tend to have good flavor and texture. I always start my mushroom in extra Virgin olive oil and slowly cook them until they lose some of their water which improves the texture and concentrates the flavour. I then add parsley, garlic, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper right at the end to add a freshness, whilst a dash of good extra virgin olive oil adds richness and mouth feel.

 
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Ingredients (serves 4)

Pancake or socca

  • 250 grams Chickpea Flour

  • 250 mL of cold water

  • 50ml of extra virgin olive oil

  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Balsamic onions

  • A handful of baby onions

  • Splash of balsamic vinegar

  • Pinch of salt

  • Olive oil

Sauteed mushrooms

  • 300g of mixed meaty mushrooms

  • Good quality Extra Virgin olive oil

  • Malden sea salt flakes

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • ¼ a bunch of washed and roughly chopped flat leaf parsley

  • 1 clove chopped garlic

  • 30ml of Extra Virgin olive oil

Almond cream

  • 2 cups raw almonds

  • 4 cups filtered water + 1 1/2 cups for blending

  • One lemon, juiced

  • 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast


Method

Pancake

  1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in the water and oil.

  2. Allow to stand for a minimum of 30 minutes before use, an hour or more is best. The batter should be quite runny like a thick milkshake.

  3. Adjust with water or flour depending on the consistency.

  4. To cook, heat up a heavy based, non stick frying pan adding a drizzle of olive oil.

  5. Pour in the batter. The batter should be the depth of a thin pancake, maybe just less than half a centimetre, but not as thin as a crepe.

  6. Once the batter has set on the bottom of the pan you can tip some out into the batter mix.

  7. Cook over a medium to high heat turning once as bubbles appear on the uncooked side. Try and get some scorch marks on the pancake for a little extra flavour and texture.

  8. Use straight away or cool on a rack to be eaten later, reheating in a moderate oven (180 degrees celsius).  You can add all sorts of differing ingredients to this basic recipe, but lets start simple, with a basic recipe.

  9. At this point a simple dusting of cumin or paprika will elevate the flavours of this dish perfectly.

  10. To serve the pancake as a main course, place on a warm plate and top with Sautéed Mushrooms, Balsamic Onions and Almond Cream, some chopped parsley, fresh black pepper and a drizzle of really good quality extra virgin olive oil and a fresh peppery rocket salad.

Sauteed mushrooms

  1. Quickly wash and dry mushrooms to remove any surface dirt.

  2. Remove stems and chop into thickish slices around ¾ of a centimetre thick. If they are too thin they will lose texture once cooked. 

  3. Heat oil in a heavy fry pan when just starting to move add the mushrooms, careful not to overload the pan as the mushrooms will sweat and you won't achieve a beautiful caramelised flavour.

  4. Add a pinch of salt and allow to cook on a gentle heat until the mushrooms are nice and brown.

  5. Add the garlic, pepper, parsley and butter. Toss for a moment on the heat. They are ready to serve.

Balsamic onions

  1. Wash and roughly chopped some baby white onions (or red onions if small baby white onions are unavailable).

  2. Heat a small heavy based pan with some olive oil and add the onion.

  3. Sautee on a gentle heat until the onions start to soften.

  4. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of good balsamic vinegar.

  5. Place in a moderate oven at 160 degrees celsius until just soft.

  6. Season with salt and pepper.

Almond cream

  1. Soak 2 cups of raw Almonds (hulled) in twice the amount of filtered water overnight.

  2. Drain off the liquid and place nuts in a high speed blender with 1 1/2 cups of water.

  3. Blend until smooth adding extra water if needed. It should be thick and smooth like thickened cream.

  4. Once smooth add salt and pepper to taste, the juice of one lemon and two teaspoons of nutrition yeast.

  5. Blend again and allow to stand in the fridge for an hour.

 
Cooking, cooking lesson, dessert, foodies, How to cook, privatechef, recipes, sydney, sydneyfood, sydneyprivatechef, vegan, veganrecipes, bakingKim MaineySydney Private Cheffoodblogger, baking, vegan, veganfood, veganbaking, foodies, foodphotography, food, cookinglesson, cooking, cookery, chef, recipe, recipeoftheday, sydneyprivatechef, sydneyeats, sydney, sydneyfoodies, sydneyfood, personalchef, howtocook