Serves 4

Carla says: The starting point for this recipe is the Mediterranean chickpea pancake called socca, which is delicate enough to feel light, while satisfying enough to be a base for a meal. When made the typical way, using only chickpea flour (besan), they are gluten-free, but they’re also so tender that I personally have a hard time turning them over without tearing them.

I added a little bit of plain (all-purpose) flour to help with structure and some mashed chickpeas for heft. You get a soft but toasty pancake on the bottom, a cold and crisp salad on top, and plenty of dressing to flavour everything on the plate.

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

220g chickpeas (from one 420g can)
55g chickpea flour (besan)
35g plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the vegetables and assembly:

1 medium watermelon radish
1 fennel bulb
2 Persian (mini) cucumbers
kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive
oil, plus more for drizzling
2 avocados
30g sprouts, such as pea or mung bean
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Method

To make the pancake batter, rinse and drain the chickpeas. Transfer to a medium bowl and roughly smash with a fork or potato masher. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, plain flour and salt. Add the olive oil and 250ml water and whisk until no lumps remain (batter will seem thin but will thicken up). Let sit for 20 minutes to hydrate the flour. Stir in the smashed chickpeas.

To prep the vegetables and assemble the pancakes, scrub the radish. Cut the tops off the fennel bulb; save them for stock or discard. Thinly slice the radish, fennel and cucumbers (I use a mandoline for this, or cut them as thinly as possible with a knife). Transfer them to a medium bowl and season with salt.

Using your hands, toss vegetables, squeezing lightly, until they start to exude some juices and become pliable, about 1 minute. Drizzle the lime juice over and toss to disperse, then add the sesame oil and 2 teaspoons olive oil and toss until the vegetables are evenly coated with dressing.

Halve and pit avocados, then scoop the flesh into a medium bowl and season with salt; smash very lightly with a fork. Place a 20cm nonstick pan over medium–high heat and drizzle lightly with olive oil. When oil is very hot, about 15 seconds, scoop a scant 80ml batter into the pan, then immediately tilt the frying pan in all directions so the batter spreads out into a round.

Cook until the underside is deeply browned and many air bubbles have broken across the entire surface, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the second side, 1 minute more. Slide pancake onto a plate. Wipe out the frying pan and repeat with additional oil and remaining batter to make 4 pancakes total (you won’t have to wait for the oil to heat up after the first pancake is done, and subsequent batches might cook a little bit faster than the first).

Add the sprouts to the vegetable salad and toss gently to coat with dressing. Place the pancakes on individual plates and top with avocado, dividing it evenly, then add the salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Notes

For gluten-free, use 80g chickpea flour and omit plain flour. Instead of chickpea flour use cup wholemeal flour.

Any crunchy vegetables can be used, such as radishes, asparagus, turnips, carrots and/or cabbage. A crisp apple can replace the fennel.

Baby butter or cannellini beans can replace the chickpeas. A neutral oil like grapeseed can replace the olive oil.

Rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice can replace the lime juice. A nut oil, such as walnut or hazelnut, can be substituted for the sesame oil, or use extra virgin olive oil.

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