The ‘What, no egg?’ omelette

A recipe by Tanmayo.

Today’s recipe is a very useful one indeed.

In fact, it’s useful in many ways. Say, for instance you are a) a vegan and fancy an omelette for brunch or (b) someone who isn’t a vegan but does have a vegan friend popping round for Sunday breakfast. Or perhaps you are c) someone, like me, who quite often happens to run out of eggs and doesn’t own a chicken. In fact, you could even be d) a lucky person who does own chickens, but whose chickens that day have decided they don’t want to lay any eggs or perhaps they’ve absentmindedly wandered over the hill to the nextdoor farm or perhaps they’ve disappeared in the forest behind the barn or… well… anyway… you got the idea.

Whoever you are and whatever your situation – this recipe’s got you covered.

AND, not only has it got you covered, but it’s super super delicious! Dare I say it, as delicious or perhaps a tiny weeny bit more delicious than a normal omelette! So, no-one’s missing out here!

I’ve paired it today with a yummy salsa of mango cubes, lime and coriander. However, it also goes equally well with a normal salsa of tomato, onion and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

It’s easily cooked in a pan – one side on the hob, the top side under a grill. You can also make it big, make it small and if you’ve got a nice slippery non-stick pan you can even flip it happily over just like a pancake.

Well, dear friends, it’s made of an innocent cup of chickpea flour, some water, a little spice and seasoning and a teaspoon of baking powder! You can jazz it up a little with some mini chopped onion and pepper but basically, that’s it.

Simple, easy… yum.

So… without any more gossip, let’s jump into the recipe!

Ingredients for omelettes

(for 2 large omelettes or 4 small ones)

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin, paprika, piri piri mix, dried mixed herbs (all optional)
one small onion and 4 small Padrón peppers, again tiny tiny chopped (optional, but worth including if you can find them)
coriander leaves for decoration
salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for mango coriander salsa

1 cup of mango (fresh or frozen) cut into little 5mm square cubes
1/4 teaspoon red chill flakes
1 small shallot chopped teeny tiny
handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 squeezed lime
1 teaspoon maple syrup
salt to taste

Method

(the prep and soaking can also be done overnight ready for quickly putting together at brunch)

put all omelette ingredients together in a bowl, apart from the coriander leaves
whisk until smooth and lump free
cover and leave to soak for at least 4 hours (this is to let the chickpea flour break down and become more digestible – trust me, it’s a good idea)
in the meantime, cut up the mango, shallot and squeeze your lime
mix all salsa ingredients together and again, cover and leave for 4 hours in the fridge to let the onion soften and the flavours mix and mingle
when time to cook, take a pan and swirl round some oil.
cook your onion, and Padrón peppers if using, until the onions are shiny and see-through
remove from the pan and add to the soaked chickpea mixture
add a little more oil to the pan if needed
let it heat up and test if it’s hot and ready by dropping in a small amount of the mixture and seeing if it sizzles
add your mixture – if using a small pan, around 3-4 tablespoons will create one omelette
if using a large frying pan, put half the mixture in
cook one side, then flip to cook second side OR grill second side until golden
serve with mango salsa and a refreshing morning tea