Joe Yonan
THE WASHINGTON POST – 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 omelettes.
Omelettes 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 omelette.
Granted, it comes together more like a savoury pancake, with a batter that also includes a little baking soda (boosted by vinegar) for lift and turmeric and nutritional yeast for colour and earthy, nutty flavour. 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 omelette over the mixture.
CHICKPEA OMELETTES WITH MUSHROOMS, SPINACH AND TOMATO
35 minutes
Two servings
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
– One tablespoon olive oil
– Eight ounces oyster, cremini or any other mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
– Two cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
– One cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
– Quarter teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
– Quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For the omelettes
– One cup plus two tablespoons chickpea flour
– Two tablespoons nutritional yeast
– Quarter teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
– Quarter teaspoon ground turmeric
– Quarter teaspoon garlic powder
– Quarter teaspoon baking soda
– Three-quarter cup oat milk, almond milk or other unsweetened plant-based milk
– Two teaspoons apple cider vinegar
– One tablespoon sunflower oil or another neutral oil
– Two tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and/or dill
DIRECTIONS
Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about five minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the spinach is fully wilted, about one 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 plant-based 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 omelettes: In the same now-empty nonstick pan 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 omelette 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 two minutes. Add half of the filling to one side of the omelette, then fold the other side of the omelette over the filling.
Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and let the omelette steam for five minutes. Transfer the omelette 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.
Nutrition information per serving (one omelette with filling, using oat milk) | Calories: 432; Total Fat: 20g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 854mg; Carbohydrates: 44g; Dietary Fibre: 10g; Sugar: 12g; Protein: 19g
