Chickpea Flour Crêpes

These crêpes aren’t nearly as versatile as the others in this book, but their earthy, beany flavor is so yummy that I wanted to include them anyway. They were developed by my friend and food writer Ivy Manning to use in her Spiced Indian Potato and Chickpea Crêpes, but you’ll find loads of other uses—dip them in yogurt or spread them with hummus, for example. Chickpea flour, which is made from ground chickpeas, is known by many other names, including gram flour, besan, and garbanzo bean flour, so keep those in mind when shopping.

Makes about ten 8-in/20-cm crêpes (or maybe less, depending on how many you mess up at first!)

1 cup/120 g chickpea flour

¼ cup/30 g all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cups/315 ml whole or low-fat milk

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in the milk and olive oil and whisk until smooth. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Pour the batter through a fine-mesh sieve into a large glass measuring cup with a spout (or a bowl that’s large enough to easily dip a ¼-cup/60-ml measuring cup into), pressing on any lumps in the sieve. Add the pepper and whisk to combine. Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes, at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. When ready to make the crêpes, stir the batter and test its consistency; if it’s too thick, add little water or milk.

Heat an 8-in/20-cm or 10-in/25-cm crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle upon contact. Reduce the heat to low, add ¼ tsp vegetable oil to the pan, and swirl to distribute it evenly.

Stir the batter with a whisk and pour a scant ¼ cup/60 ml of the batter into the center of the pan. At the same time lift the pan from the heat, tilting and turning it in all directions so the batter spreads evenly across the bottom of the pan in a thin circle. If the crêpe has any holes in it, quickly add a few drops of batter to fill them in. Or, if you have too much batter and the crêpe looks too thick, immediately pour the excess back into the measuring cup or bowl of batter. You can always trim off the “tail” that’s left behind later.

Cook the crêpe until the edges begin to brown and the top is dry, 1 to 1½ minutes. Loosen the edges of the crêpe with a rubber spatula and carefully flip it; chickpea crêpes are more fragile and less elastic than crêpes made with other batters. Cook on the second side until lightly browned, 1 minute. The first side is almost always much prettier and more evenly browned (in these recipes, we’ll call that the presentation side), while the second side tends to be more spotty.

Slide the crêpe from the pan onto a plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, stirring the batter well before making each crêpe to make sure the batter is uniformly thick. Adjust the heat and add more oil to the pan, if necessary, as you cook. You can stack the crêpes on the plate as they’re done. If you’re going to store them in the freezer, lay pieces of waxed or parchment paper between them so they don’t stick together. To keep in the fridge, just stack themneatly; no need for the paper separators. (Keep the stacks small if you usually cook for a few people, or make the stack larger if you find yourself cooking for a crowd most nights.) The crêpes will soften as they cool.

To store, wrap the stack in plastic wrap, and then slide it into a large zip-top freezer bag. The crêpes will keep in the fridge like this for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.

To thaw, let the stack sit at room temperature until the crêpes are pliable, about an hour, and then peel them apart and proceed with your recipe.