Guest post by Virginia
Ever since I have gone gluten free, I have always had a “find healthy bread-like recipes” sub-routine running. My husband and oldest son are very interested in eating things that resemble bread, and I like trying new things, so everyone is generally happy.
The one thing that really trips me up about gluten free cooking is how one is expected to own every. kind. of. flour.
When I encountered a recipe for chickpea flatbread I was very excited until I read that I needed chickpea flour (for the typical chickpea flatbread recipe called Socca, from France). Sorry, friends. I have at least five different kinds of flour in my pantry/fridge and I am not looking to invest in new varieties at the moment.
I wasn’t going to be that easily deterred, though, since the concept of chickpea flatbread sounded quite yummy.
With a Vitamix and whole chickpeas I thought I would be able to come up with something resembling flatbread. And I was right! My version is delicious and flourless (and frugal!)
I decided to add lentils along the way and now I consider them an integral part of this bread.
This is a great bread to make for guests as anyone except for your Paleo friends can eat it. It is gluten free, grain free, nut free, egg free, and vegetarian/vegan.
How to Make Chickpea Flatbread: Step by Step
Step 1: Soak chickpeas and lentils
Step 2: Blend 1 cup of chickpeas with water, olive oil, and salt, and store the rest in the fridge
Step 3: Pour batter into pan and bake
It’s really quite simple, and other than remembering to soak the chickpeas and lentils the night before – it requires very little time and effort. My kind of recipe!
What Can I Serve with Chickpea Flatbread?
There are lots of ways to enjoy it! Here are some ideas:
- Flatbread pizza (you can make your flatbread a bit heartier/thicker by slightly reducing the water in the recipe).
- Use it as a wrap – fill it with scrambled eggs and salsa, meat and cheese, or whatever else your little heart desires!
- Break it or cut it up and serve it as a cracker substitute with a hot dip (mmm, spinach-artichoke dip) or a cold dip like hummus (in case you’re going for a chickpea theme, ha!)
- Cut into chip-sized pieces and fry in a half inch of coconut oil to make crispy chips
- Tear it up and serve as flatbread with oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping
- Tear it up and serve as crackers with salami and cheese
Got any other ideas? Share below!
Chickpea Flatbread (GF/DF, Egg-Free, Flourless)
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked, dry chickpeas
- 1/2 cup lentils
- filtered water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- The first thing you need to do is soak your chickpeas and lentils. I throw them all in a bowl together and add the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Let them sit overnight, covered, on your counter.
- The next day, strain the lentils and chickpeas. You will have enough to make a few flatbreads, so reserve a cup of them to make your flatbread today. Put the rest in a quart jar covered with filtered water. These will last for quite a while in the fridge.
- Now it's time to make the bread. Put a cast iron pan in your oven and turn it on to preheat both the oven and the pan to 375 degrees F.
- Put your cup of chickpeas and lentils in the blender along with 1/2 cup of water, 1tbsp Olive oil, and a generous pinch of good salt. Blend it like crazy until it is a smooth liquid.
- By this time your oven will probably be ready. When it is preheated, take your cast iron pan out, pour some olive oil in, and swirl it around to coat the pan. Pour in the batter. You may have to flatten it out a little, depending on how thick it is.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until it is brown and crispy on the edges. Let it cool and then remove it from the pan and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Virginia is a child of God, a wife to her high school sweetheart, and a mother to three children. A musician by training, she now spends her time preparing delicious food, trying to get her children to eat said delicious food, and then scrubbing the same delicious food off the floor and washing it out of garments. She is in the process of improving her backyard garden so that the food she makes can be even more delicious. In her spare time (haha) she loves reading, playing with her cute kids, and hanging out with her awesome husband. Connect with her on her blog.
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