CHICKPEA AND CHARD PANCAKES WITH AUBERGINE STEW

Another favourite in our household, chickpea pancakes work well with many toppings and flavours. Timing is important, as the batter needs to stand for at least a few hours before cooking the pancakes, and the pan needs to be preheated. They are also best served while they are still hot and crispy, so we usually eat them in shifts.

Ingredients (serves 4) For the pancakes:

240g gram flour (chickpea flour) 1½tbsp melted coconut oil 310ml tepid water A little olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1tbsp (heaped) finely chopped rosemary 200g chard, thick stalks cut out and finely chopped, leaves torn into smaller pieces Ghee or coconut oil, for frying Sea salt

For the aubergine stew:

Coconut oil, butter or extra virgin olive oil 1 large red onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 medium-sized aubergines, cut into 1.5cm dice 5 large tomatoes, blanched, skinned, cored, chopped 1tbsp (heaped) thyme leaves, finely chopped 1 orange pepper, cut into small dice Pinch of cayenne pepper 40ml freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 medium orange) 25g (1 small bunch) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped Greek yoghurt, to serve

1 To make the pancake batter, put the gram flour in a bowl, make a well in the centre and whisk in the coconut oil, a large pinch of salt and most of the water until you have a thick batter. Add more water if necessary, then set aside for four hours.

2 Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion for the batter with a pinch of salt over a medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the rosemary and fry for another minute before scraping into a food processor and setting aside. 3Tip

the chard stalks into the pan, add a tiny bit of water, cover and steam until tender. Add the chard leaves and cook, uncovered, until wilted, for about one minute or longer if the leaves are very coarse, and the saucepan is dry. Add this mixture to the food processor (no need to squeeze it out first), process until very fine and set aside. Stir into the chickpea batter just before you cook the pancakes. 4For

the aubergine stew, heat some fat of your choice in a saucepan and sauté the red onion with a pinch of salt for a few minutes. Add the garlic and aubergine and increase the heat a little. As soon as the aubergine is halfway to being tender, add the chopped tomatoes, thyme leaves, chopped pepper and cayenne pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes until the aubergine is soft but not breaking down. 5Add

the orange juice and parsley, simmer for another minute, season, remove from the heat and keep warm. 6Meanwhile,

place one large or two smaller cast-iron frying pans or heavy-based stainless steel pans in the oven with a large knob of ghee or coconut oil. As soon as it is very hot (but not smoking) and the fat covers the base in a noticeable layer, remove from the oven and ladle enough of the chickpea mixture into the pans to make several small, or one large pancake. You will hear a sizzling sound. Slide back into the oven and bake for 10-20 minutes or until very crispy around the edges and slightly golden on top. Repeat with the remaining pancake mixture until it is all used up. Serve straight from the oven with the aubergine stew and Greek yoghurt.