Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Chickpea flour whips up savory vegan omelet
I’ve been on a breakfast-for-dinner tear recently, and I’m not talking about eggs.
Instead, I’ve been making pancakes, French toast — and, most recently, these omelets. Omelets without eggs, you ask? I can’t wait to see some of the most persnickety commenters get up in arms about the name of this egg-free take on a traditionally egg- full dish, but yes: With the help of chickpea flour, you can make a lovely vegan omelet.
Granted, it comes together more like a savory pancake, with a batter that also includes a little baking soda (boosted by vinegar) for lift and turmeric and nutritional yeast for color and earthy, nutty flavor. In the pan, too, it gives you those telltale bubbles on one side and light browning on the other before you slide a spatula underneath for the turning.
Rather than flip it all the way over, though, you add your filling — in this case, mushrooms, spinach and cherry tomatoes, but it could be whatever else you like — and fold the omelet over the mixture.
Before you serve, there’s one more step, an important one. Previous recipes of this type I’ve tried have resulted in something with a texture too dry for my liking. In this one, author Saskia Sidey smartly has you turn off the heat after you fold the omelet and then cover the pan for a few minutes to finish cooking, gently.
The result: crisp edges and a slightly custardy interior, helping this omelet live up to its name — at least to me. If you’d feel better calling it a pancake, that’s cool, too. Just make sure to eat it when it’s fresh and warm; that perfect texture doesn’t last upon refrigeration, so this is no time to create leftovers, whatever they’re called.
If you love vegan cheese, feel free to sprinkle some over the omelets before folding them, but these are great — and very filling — without it.
Chickpea Omelets With Mushrooms, Spinach and Tomato
For the filling:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms such as oyster or crimini, trimmed and chopped
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
¼ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For the omelets:
1 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons chickpea flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup plain, unsweetened plant milk such as oat or almond
2 teaspoons apple cider
vinegar
1 tablespoon sunflower oil or another neutral oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and/or dill (optional)
Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the spinach is fully wilted, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and wipe out the skillet if needed. Taste, and season with more salt and/or pepper as needed.
In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, salt, turmeric, garlic powder and baking soda.
In a measuring cup with a spout, combine the plantbased milk and vinegar and slowly pour into the bowl with the chickpea flour mixture, whisking constantly, until you have a smooth batter. Taste, and season with more salt as needed.
Make the omelets: In the same now-empty nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil until it shimmers. Pour in half the batter and immediately swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Cook until the omelet starts to look brown and crispy on the bottom and the top changes from shiny to a matte finish, with lots of small holes on the surface, about 2 minutes. Add half of the filling to one side of the omelet, then fold the other side of the omelet over the filling.
Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and let the omelet steam for 5 minutes. Transfer the omelet to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more oil if needed.
Serve warm, with a sprinkling of parsley and/or dill, if you’d like.
Makes 2 servings.