HARISSA CHICKPEA SCRAMBLE

This recipe is inspired by a dish served at my favourite brunch place in Brooklyn, New York, called Five Leaves. The chickpeas, batter, spices and tomatoes are all fried together to form a grand mess – brunch heaven! We’ve served a version of this at Poco since we opened. This is a plant-rich version, made using ‘besan’ or chickpea flour instead of eggs.

Preparation 20 minutes, plus resting Cooking about 10 minutes Serves 2

85G ‘BESAN’ OR CHICKPEA FLOUR, MIXED WITH 100ML WATER TO FORM A BATTER IDEALLY 1-8 HOURS BEFORE MAKING THE DISH

2 TBSP APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

4 TSP BAKING POWDER

2 TSP GROUND TURMERIC

GLUG OF EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, FOR FRYING

2 SMALL RED ONIONS, FINELY SLICED

120G COOKED CHICKPEAS OR OTHER COOKED BEANS 1 GARLIC CLOVE, ROUGHLY CHOPPED

2 TSP CUMIN SEEDS

2 TSP SMOKED PAPRIKA

20G SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, ROUGHLY CHOPPED (OPTIONAL)

TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)

THINLY SLICED WHOLEMEAL BREAD, YOGURT, TOPPINGS OF YOUR CHOICE (EG SLICED SPRING ONIONS, DRIED CHILLI FLAKES, FRESH CORIANDER LEAVES, LEMON JUICE)

1 Stir the vinegar, baking powder and turmeric into the chickpea flour batter and set aside.

2 Heat a frying pan with a glug of oil over a medium heat. When hot, add the onions and chickpeas or beans, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the garlic, spices and sun-dried tomatoes, if using, and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring continuously.

3 Pour the chickpea flour batter into the pan and wait for 20 seconds for it to begin to set before scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Repeat this process every 20 seconds, scrambling the mixture each time and taking care it doesn’t catch or burn.

4 Serve hot, either on its own or on bread with yogurt and your chosen toppings.