Chickpea crepes

Why chickpea flour?

You could just make wheat flour crepes, but these chickpea flour crepes are not much harder and have a lot more flavor. Plus, they don’t have any gluten, so if you’re cooking for a vegetarian with a gluten allergy, this is a good direction to go in.

How to make chickpea crepes:

First make the crepes: in a medium-sized mixing bowl mix 1 cup of chickpea flour (look in the health food section or bulk section of your grocery store), 4 teaspoons of regular flour (or leave this out if it needs to be gluten-free), a large pinch of salt, four eggs, 1 1/3 cups of milk, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well. In a medium-size frying pan, melt half a tablespoon of butter, pour in 1/4 cup of the batter, and cook until browned on the bottom; then flip with a spatula and cook briefly (just a few seconds) on the other side. Stack up the crepes on a countertop or plate. Repeat until you have used all the batter.

Chickpea crepe

Now to fill the crepes: Lay all the crepes out on the counter and ladle some tomato sauce on to the middle of each one. Add some crumbled feta cheese, and roll the crepes up around the filling. Tuck in the ends as much as possible, and lay each crepe in a 9×12 roasting pan. Push the crepes up against each other to help them hold together. Bake at 350 F for ten minutes or until the cheese is melted, and eat hot with a large salad, perhaps a beet salad.

For a different filling, use sliced mushrooms sauteed in butter and crumbled blue cheese. Or, as in the picture, try grated gruyere cheese and sauteed spinach. Recently I’ve been doing these with gruyere and apple (microwave the apple to soften it), or with roast beef, swiss cheese, and grilled peppers and onions, like a philly cheese steak.

Vegetarian or vegan?

Yummy and vegetarian, but not vegan because of the eggs and milk. A good meal to have for dinner as a family, or to serve when people come over. You can have it ready to bake when the guests arrive, and bake for a few minutes and serve whenever you like.

Can I keep this for later?

Yes, these chickpea crepes are still good the next day, but they’ll begin to get tired and soggy after that. They’re really best fresh.

Published by Karen Carr

Dr. Karen Carr is Associate Professor Emerita, Department of History, Portland State University. She holds a doctorate in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, or buy her book, Vandals to Visigoths.

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