Turnip Green and Garlic Scape Chickpea Pancakes

Happy summer! To everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway. I think I might be officially done using my oven for the next couple of months. Bring on the popsicles and ice cream, fresh salsa and green salads, and quick stovetop recipes like these garlic scape chickpea pancakes! These are packed full of early summer’s finest flavors.

My first weekend of the season was a really great one. On Saturday, I woke up very early (hint: the number on my clock began with a 4) to drive up to northeastern Maryland for a killer trail half marathon. My ankles are still sore as I write this, but it was totally worth it! It was a rainy but beautiful day and I had a great race, finishing 2nd in my age group. I don’t usually win things. So that was pretty cool! I missed a few weeks of training due to badly cutting my foot, and I’m truly grateful that I was able to get out there and run at all, let alone have a competitive performance!

I also had to the opportunity for a fantastic brunch at Woodberry Kitchen, a farm-to-table restaurant in northern Baltimore that partners with the same farm where I get my CSA. Woodberry Kitchen is not the most vegan-friendly place around, but they generally have at least one great option available. The menu changes almost daily and they have THE BEST cocktails. Kind of ironic, though, that when I take a break from cooking at home to go out to eat, I end up basically eating more of the same veggies that we currently have at home.

Speaking of which, I owe you a CSA update! Yesterday I picked up our second share of the season. Usually there are 8 things, but this week we got 9. Here’s what was in it:

• Kohlrabi (with greens)
• Broccoli (with greens)
• Turnips (with greens)
• Radishes (with greens)
• Spring onions (with greens)
• Fresh oregano
• Arugula
• Curly kale
• Garlic scapes

I’m sensing a theme here… are you? I’m currently failing miserably at eating the rainbow, but at least it is fairly obvious that I am getting sufficient iron intake! Last week my partner was out of town and I finished all 7 leafy green things myself. Not totally sure I want to repeat that experience. I think half of that amount is probably more reasonable.

In conclusion, it’s now that time of year when I try to put as many vegetables as I can into one dish, without muddling up the flavors too much. These turnip green & garlic scape chickpea pancakes do a great job at that. I gave them that name for brevity, but I actually used a combination of turnip greens, broccoli greens, and radish greens, in addition to the garlic scapes, a good dose of fresh oregano, and some leftover onion chives from last week. Chickpea pancakes are versatile and these will work with any leafy green of your choosing, and a variety of different herbs, as well. I find them incredibly satisfying and they’re packed with nutrition!

5 from 1 vote

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Turnip Green and Garlic Scape Chickpea Pancakes

Hearty chickpea pancakes powered by fresh leafy greens. Protein-packed, vegan, gluten-free and grain-free breakfast or other meal.

Course Breakfast, lunch

Cuisine gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, vegetarian

Keyword garlic scape chickpea pancakes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Total Yield 8 pancakes

Calories Per Serving 348 kcal

Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

Greens for blanching:

• 1 small bunch radish greens (from 1 small bunch of radishes) stems removed, thoroughly washed
• 1 small bunch broccoli greens (from 1 large broccoli stalk) stems removed, thoroughly washed
• 1 bunch turnip greens (from about 3 turnips) stems removed, thoroughly washed
• 1 small bunch garlic scapes chopped into 1-inch segments (or substitute 1 clove minced garlic, and don't blanch it)

Other mix-ins:

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

For the chickpea pancake batter:

• 1 and 3/4 cups chickpea flour (see notes)
• 4 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar, or white vinegar)
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp water

Instructions

To blanch and prep the greens and garlic scapes:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Submerge all of the greens and gently stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the leaves turn bright green and soften slightly. Use a slotted spoon or colander to remove them from the pot, and immediately rinse with ice cold water.
2. Add the chopped garlic scapes to the boiling water and cook for 60 seconds. Remove them and immediately rinse with cold water.
3. Dry the greens using a towel or a salad spinner and roughly chop them, then agitate them to separate the leaves a little bit.

To make the chickpea pancake batter:

1. Sift together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt and spices in a mixing bowl. Add the rice vinegar and water, and stir with a fork until completely smooth. Fold in the chopped greens, garlic scapes (or minced garlic), and fresh herbs.
2. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. {Drop a teaspoon-sized bit of the batter mixture into the pan to cook it and test for seasoning, if desired. The raw chickpea batter tastes gross, you do not want to eat it. Trust me.}
3. Spray the pan lightly with oil (optional, but recommended). Use a 1/2 cup measure to scoop the batter mixture into the pan, and flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Do not crowd the pan. I was able to make 3 at a time.
4. Cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until quite brown on the bottom (I like them to be verging on charred).
5. Flip over the pancakes, pressing down on them gently with the spatula, cover again, and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until browned on the other side and firm all the way through.
6. Repeat with the remaining batter until all of the pancakes have been cooked. Serve warm. I'm not ashamed to say that these are amazing with ketchup. They would also go nicely with a yogurt-based sauce or a sweet chutney.

Recipe Notes

Other leafy greens should be interchangeable here - I didn't like them with beet greens, but I think I just don't like beet greens in general. If you are using a softer green like spinach or arugula, don't worry about blanching it first. Any hearty greens should be blanched for the best texture and flavor.

If your garlic scapes are thinner than a standard-sized pencil, you can probably get away with not blanching them. Do a taste-test of the raw garlic scapes (they're delicious!) to see what the texture is like. Mine were very robust and the texture was too woody to add raw.

It will probably seem like the batter to veggie ratio is too low, but it all sorts out in the skillet! You can also make the pancakes larger, and increase the cooking time as needed.

Chickpea flour and besan aren't interchangeable and have different absorption rates. If you use besan you will need to adjust the amount of water.

Nutrition Facts

Turnip Green and Garlic Scape Chickpea Pancakes

Amount Per Serving (2 pancakes)

Calories 348 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Sodium 281mg12%

Potassium 1497mg43%

Carbohydrates 54g18%

Fiber 16g67%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 25g50%

Vitamin A 21350IU427%

Vitamin C 311.9mg378%

Calcium 440mg44%

Iron 6.5mg36%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.