WHB: Chickpea Pancakes

I didn't know what I wanted for dinner tonight. I just knew that I was hungry, but didn't want to eat anything with meat, or flesh of any kind.  So, completely perplexed about what to fix, I turned to my old friend, the chickpea.  As long as I have cans of them in my pantry, I know some sort of quick, satisfying meal is possible.  Then it dawned on me that chickpea pancakes would probably taste pretty good, and allow me to use up some odds and ends in my fridge.  I pureed the chickpeas with a dab of leftover tomato-chipotle sauce, garlic, and cumin, shaped them into rough patties and cooked them in a little oil.  And they were very good.  But, I'm biased in favor of bean patties, so others might not like these as much as I did. 

Obviously, this kind of recipe can be a launching pad for lots of things you might want to add.  Onions, carrots, or squash would be nice. And some sort of sauce would make things even better, I suppose.  I used cumin, but any number of spices or herbs would work.  I go through a lot of cumin, because I've a heavy hand when using it.  If you like cumin, I recommend Penzeys.  It has a strong deep flavor, but will make it difficult for you to tolerate supermarket cumin again.  This is my submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by the fabulous Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. WHB is being hosted this week by the lovely Gay at A Scientist In The Kitchen.  Stop by her site and check out the herby recipes from other bloggers around the world. She should have the round-up next Monday, I would bet.

Although these are called pancakes, they aren't light and fluffy, having a texture more like potato pancakes.

Chickpea Pancakes

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
about 1/3 cup very thick tomato sauce (I used a tomato chipotle sauce made from this recipe)
1 egg
a few Tablespoons heavy cream, but you could use bean broth or stock
cumin to taste (I used quite a bit, a Tablespoon probably)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
oil to cook the garlic and to fry the patties.  I used olive oil

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a small pan and saute the garlic for a few minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and cook a few minutes more. Add the sauce mix, the chickpeas, egg, cumin, flour, and cream to a food processor.  Process until the chickpeas are pureed with the other ingredients.  Add salt and pepper if you wish. I didn't.  Wet your hands and form the puree into rough patties and drop them gently into a non-stick skillet with about an inch of hot oil.  It took me about 2 minutes per side to cook the pancakes.  Drain them ion paper towels and serve with whatever you like--cheese, sour cream, tomato sauce, etc.

I made 5 pancakes, but yours will be determined by the size you make them.

Comments

[Rosa]

Those Chickpea Pancakes look extremely good! I love chickpeas, so I'm sure I'd gobble those scrumptious pancakes in a matter of minutes ;-P...

Cheers,

Rosa

[Gay]

I've never had chickpea pancakes before. It seems like a must try :)

[gattina]

quite often I don't feel like having meat, but have a crave for protein... these wonderful pancakes are the way to go!

[Kittie]

Mmmm - what a lovely, simple mid-week recipe! Thanks for sharing :)

[Patricia Scarpin]

I love, love, love chickpeas, Sher! These pancakes would make me so happy right now. ;)

[Kalyn]

I would love to try these! They look absolutely drool-worthy in the photo. I can tell I love everything about this recipe (bookmarked!) I also love cumin, and I agree, the cumin from Penzeys is the best! I'm actually working on a Penzeys order right now, checking to see what I need!

[TadMack]

Ohhhh, these look SO GOOD. I've made something like this with chickpea flour -- called chana flour, and gotten from the Indian section of an Asian market -- but I hadn't ever just whizzed up chickpeas from a can. These look TASTY!

[Burcu]

They look delicious! What a great idea, Sher.

[Peter]

Sher, nicely browned. I like the combo of chickpeas and cumin, ever try it?

[DaviMack]

Flat Falafel? Yum!

[grace]

ooh, good call davimack! how could anyone resist flat falafel? these look spectacular!

[Deborah]

I love chickpeas, so I'm sure I would love these!

[breadchick]

So, I'm now wondering why I don't keep a can or two or these in my pantry (and adding them to the grocery list!) These look like they would be fantastic little appies for a party.

[Emily]

Sounds amazing - must try them!

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

That is a pow on the forehead "Why didn't I think of that." So very perfect! I'm always a pushover for chickpeas. . . um is that because I'm a chick . . . or now wait I'm a babe! Either way I love chickpeas!!

[Callipygia]

I too am appreciating the convenience of the humble chickpea. And agree this is a quick falafel-esque meal w/o the frying! Hope you are feeling well.

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Great pantry scrounging! I love dishes that come together from odds and ends.

[mimi]

lovely! i love chickpeas and this is such a creative way to use them!

[Marc @ NoRecipes]

These look fantastic! I bet this would be good with a bit of thai sweet chili sauce on the side.

[Begered]

:) Those look yummy! I will have to try those...I think my mom would love them.

[baking soda]

Again, I want to have dinner at your house! These look scrumptious!

[India J]

I'm so glad I came across your blog (quite by chance)...it's awesome (as you say in the US) !
I love it...I'm going to try quite a few of your lovely recipes, thanks for sharing them :)

[Kevin]

These sound pretty tasty, especially with the tomato chipotle sauce.

[aria]

those look fabulous! i love this kind of thing and i def don't eat enough chick peas.yummm!

i just bought the small plates cookbook that i think i read about on your blog. wow!!

[peabody]

Oh, I am loving this idea... I just wont tell hubby it is chickpeas.