[Delicious as a pizza–stellar as a quiche. This recipe has many talents!]
Have you heard that Hugh Jackman, that alluring Aussie known best for his role as a latter day wolfman, is performing a one-man cabaret-style show here in Toronto right now? That’s right: Wolverine’s tricks span beyond giving manicurists nightmares or saving bald-headed professor-types from magnetized death, all the way to singing, dancing, and delivering one-liners.
In the olden days (ie, when I was a tot), entertainers were required to have it all: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Vera Ellen, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland et al–each one of them could sing, dance and act (with varying degrees of aptitude). Today’s all-in-one players like JLo, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and their crew just don’t cut it the way the old-timers did, in my opinion. If you keep in mind that the stars of eras gone by had to actually do it all at once–no lip syncing or pre-taped music!–today’s feature players simply pale in comparison. Back then, an orchestra played live while the thespians sang and danced. Get something wrong, and they had to film the entire scene over again. Now, that’s entertainment.
Similarly, the notion of the true, multi-talented “Renaissance Man” seems to be in short supply these days. Although I didn’t realize it when we first met, I think of the HH as just that kind of fellow (see, he even incites my use of Renaissance-era words like “fellow”!). It was the height of summer when we started dating, and having just emerged from a divorce, the HH was still in party mode. At the time, I assumed that he would be perpetually a scruffy guy in jeans and a T-shirt, who seemed to like nothing more than spending time on patios or smoky jazz bars, soaking up mindless movies, or reading magazines about expensive race cars.
When winter hit, I tried a new tactic: I invited him to the ballet (The Nutcracker, as I recall). “Sounds great!” he enthused, totally unphased. “I haven’t seen it in a few years. Always a good time for Tchaikovsky.” Huh?! Not only was he entirely familiar with the ballet and all of the music–he had actually been friends with one of the National Ballet of Canada’s principal dancers back in the 1980s! I quickly ascertained (and time has proven) that the HH was one of those rare individuals who could mingle with anyone or go anywhere, equally at ease in tattered Levis and sneakers, or a Hugo Boss suit and brogues (though, to be fair, he only wears his suit about twice a year). Whatever the habidashery, though, the HH is comfortable in just about any context.
[Does this pie sing to you?]
I think of the chickpea flour in this recipe in much the same way: it’s also a kind of “Renaissance Ingredient.” (What a minute here. Did I just compare the love of my life to a dried legume? Don’t answer that.)
One of the great things about chickpea flour is how well it can serve so many different purposes, equally delicious in all of them. It’s a great high-protein flour to add to your all-purpose gluten free flour mix. It works beautifully in pancakes and other breakfast foods, in savory dishes, as a thickener in sauces. Alone or within a group, chickpea flour plays well with others. It’s multi-talented.
Used as the base of this “quiche,” chickpea flour is simply unrivalled. Now, I’ve written about my love of the Lucini brand’s Cinque et Cinque before (a specially milled chickpea flour) and how I used the mix to create a stupendous “pizza” crust. I do try to get the mix when I can, but when I ran out, I used regular chickpea flour (since that’s the only ingredient in the “Traditional” flavor) instead. I’ve found that the store-bought flour works almost as well. In fact, if you don’t have the Cinque right beside it for comparison, you’d swear they were identical.
The last time I mixed up some cinque (also known as farinata or socca), I decided to try something different. Rather than pile all my “extras” on top of the pie as a pizza, I folded all the chopped veggies right into the batter and cooked it all together. And oh, my goodness–what a difference that made!
The result really did remind me of a true quiche, albeit a crustless one (which made me think of my friend Shirley, who is prolific with all things GF and crustless). Who needs crust when you have a rich, custardy filling punctuated throughout with shreds of dandelion or chard, roasted garlic slices, oven-dried tomatoes and any other chopped veggies you fancy? The beauty of this method, as well, is how it saves preparation time: this way, instead of stopping to place your toppings strategically over the “pizza,” they’re baked right into it. Magically, the baking time is just right to cook those veggies to perfection–including those raw garlic slices.
The HH couldn’t get enough of this pie. He ate 3 slices for dinner, and remarked how “this is way better than that other chickpea pie you used to make” (I didn’t tell him that it contained exactly the same ingredients, just presented in a different format).
Who knows? Maybe he felt a kinship to the multi-talented, multi-faceted chickpea flour, and that’s why he loved it.
Me, I love them both.
[And speaking of yummy gluten free eats. . . the fabulous Alta of Tasty Eats at Home has adopted me for this month’s Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger! I am totally honored! Check out her wonderful post and stunning photo. Then go look at Wendy’s roundup at Celiacs in the House, where you can see all of the adoptions from this month!]
Chickpea Flour “Quizza” (suitable for ACD Stage 1 and Beyond)
This is a great brunch or light dinner meal-in-a-pan. The slices can be wrapped and saved for another day (they hold up great for packaged lunches, or even as a sandwich filling) or frozen for a quick meal down the road.
For the Filling:
1/2 bunch thin leafy greens, such as dandelion, chard, or spinach
4 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup (240 ml) oven-dried cherry or grape tomatoes, or 1/2 cup (120 ml) reconstituted sundried tomatoes, chopped (if not on ACD)
1/2 cup (120 ml) diced red or other sweet pepper, broccoli or zucchini
For the Base:
2-1/4 cups (250 g) chickpea flour, or one package Lucini Cinque et Cinque
2 Tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt, or to your taste
3-1/8 cups (750 ml) filtered water
Preheat oven to 475F (245 C). Lightly grease a large (9 or 10 inch/22.5 or 25 cm)cast iron frypan or quiche pan with coconut oil and place in preheated oven for 5-8 minutes.
While the frypan is heating, prepare the vegetables: trim, wash and spin the leafy greens dry. Chop or shred the leaves. Set aside with the other vegetables.
Prepare the base:
Place the chickpea flour, oil, salt and water in the container of a large blender and blend until smooth and frothy (if using the Cinque mix, you can simply whisk it in a large bowl). Pour into a large bowl and mix in the prepared vegetables.
Once the frypan is heated, remove from the oven and pour the quizza batter into it. Using a silicone spatula, spread the veggies around so they are evenly distributed.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from heat and dollop with goat cheese, if using. Rotate the pan and return it to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, until somewhat puffed and browned on the edges. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Makes 6-8 servings. May be frozen.
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this is a great idea, ricki! i can’t wait to try this! it’s like a quiche without tofu 😉
Caitlin, it IS a quiche without tofu! 😀
Ricki! I love the writing in this post and I’d love to see hugh jackman in that show. But this quizza? Oh, guuurrrrrrrrrrl, you know what I like.
I’m trying this ASAP.
xo
I’m looking into tickets for that show. . . .I adore Hugh Jackman! 😀 Glad you like the quizza, too!
And I forgot to say, the HH sounds fab. I need to find an HH of my own!!! 😉 any scruffy guy in tshirt and jeans who also likes the ballet is a winner in my book.
Aw, thanks, Kim! He’s a winner in mine, too. 😀
I had to reread the recipe a couple of times looking for more ingredients! It’s so simple! Ricki strikes again with another winner it seems. I’m a huge chickpea flour fan too.
I laughed out loud at the comparison of your darling husband to a ‘dried legume’. Teehee. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I know–it sounds too good to be true–but it IS true! Somehow the combination of flour, water, all the veggies, etc. . . it just works. And I’ve been loving it! 🙂
No tofu?! This both blows my mind and makes me want to try it immediately. Who knew such simple ingredients could make something so wonderful 🙂
Nope, no tofu! I hadn’t even realized how big of a deal that would be for people, but am glad that it makes a lot of you happy! 😀
Ricki, this looks soooo good! Just the recipe for the bag of chickpea flour I use for French toast!
And,do you really not have to cook the veggies beforehand? I’m so used to doing that for tofu quiche…
Thanks!!
~e
Erin, I promise I did not cook the veggies beforehand! I think because it’s such a high heat, and they are cut small (and I sliced the garlic very thinly), they just cook during the time they’re in there! At least, mine did! The tops were a bit browned (you can see this in the photo), but the insides were perfect.
I *love* chickpea flour! I have always wondered about the Cinque et Cinque but never wanted to shell out the money for it when I can get chickpea flour so reasonably…it sounds like it really is just chickpea flour?!?
I can’t wait to try this…as soon as it cools down here a bit and I can bring myself to turn on the oven 🙂
Courtney
Courtney, there actually is a slight difference–I think the cinque is milled very fine, which creates a much creamier texture than regular chickpea flour on its own. That’s why I used the blender–to smooth it out so it would end up quite creamy as well! And I know I shouldn’t be cooking things like this in this weather, but it’s such a simple dinner to make, and we do use the AC when it’s this hot, anyway (she said, sheepishly. . . .) 😉
Don’t be sheepish about it! Heck, if I had AC I would turn it on and cook the summer away, lol. I would LOVE AC!!!
Courtney
Your day will come. . . ! 😉
Oh and one more question! Do you think it would work in a regular skillet? I have hemachromatosis (retain too much iron) so I only use my cast iron once in a blue moon. I do have some lovely oval cast-iron enamel casseroles…surely those would work fine? Thanks again. 🙂
~e
Thanks for bringing me back to my nutrition school days–last time I saw the term “hemachromatosis”! 🙂 As long as you think your pan can withstand the heat, it should be fine. I wouldn’t heat it lower than around 450F, though, or it might not cook well enough.
I didn’t know you’re Canadian! We live close to toronto too and are big fans of the arts scene there.
Lucini really does have the best chickpea flour, they sent us samples a while ago and I was astonished how smooth it was.
Lovely pie recipe!
Thanks, Jennifer! I thought for sure you knew I was near Toronto (who else but Europeans would always include metric in their recipes–ha ha!)? Yes, I love Lucini, but can’t always find it or get to it. . . this is a great substitute. 🙂
I am definitely going to try this, it looks delicious! I’ve tried something like this in the past but I think it really needs the vegetables to hold it all together.
Yes, I think the chopped veggies throughout really made a difference–my hubby felt that the version that we used as a crust (and only put veggies on top) was too intense. He loved, loved this one. 🙂
Oooh, I’m totally game for this one, Ricki! It looks fantastic. 🙂 Many thanks for the sweet mentions, too. 😉 I love your thoughts on what entertainment used to be, although I admit that I think Justin Timberlake is pretty multi-talented. As far as your HH, he sounds totally wonderful. Although my husband is not a fan of the ballet per se, he is a Renaissance type guy, too. Since he’s a scuba diver, I’ll tell you what his diving buddy told him. He was amazed at Mr. GFE’s world of friends and interests, literally. He said that some fish swim in small ponds. Others swim in the ocean. Mr. GFE and your HH swim in the ocean. 🙂
Shirley
Shirley, I love that analogy! I bet I’d be charmed by Mr. GFE, too. 🙂 The four of us should sit on a patio together! (Sorry, I just can’t do the camping thing). 😉 Oh, and yeah, it was pretty darned tasty. 🙂
This looks great!!
Thanks! I loved eating it. 😉
This looks absolutely amazing, Ricki! I can’t believe you thought of this. I am most definitely, positively making it (when I am done studying for the bar).
Well, if you need a break from studying, it comes together pretty quickly–ha ha! 🙂 Good luck with the exam!!
this looks so good ricki! you are so creative!
Thanks so much, Bitt! But I think it was the Cinque that inspired me. 🙂
this pie definitely sings to me; and it’s a lovely song! chickpea flour is my favorite for the variety of textures it is capable of producing… not to mention, I love the flavor! it truly is multi-talented. this looks delicious.
Yes, I think it was the texture more than anything that got me with this one–so custardy! A bit denser than “real” quiche (to be expected), but so, so, so good!
I’ve had some socca success but I think this quiche would be a great crowd pleaser. I can imagine endless flavour possibilities!
Yes, me, too! I was dreaming up all the possible combinations I could use. I’ve already tried it with dandelion and chard and spinach–all worked great. The key is chopping small and choosing veggies that will cook in the time it’s in the oven. 🙂
I own pretty much every Gene Kelly musical, and watch them when I’m feeling blue. Next time, I’ll have to make these to accompany the music and dancing and happy-bygone-era-romance 🙂
What a great idea! I think Gene Kelly was my very favorite performer of that era. Fred Astaire had the technical perfection going, but Kelly is so much more appealing somehow. . . maybe I just think he’s cute. 😉
Thanks so much for your reply Ricky…I’m really looking forward to trying this out!
e
Yay! Let me know how it works out if you do give it a try. 🙂
This is awesome – I wish I had seen it yesterday before I made up a batch of falafel. This has so much more going for it, so now it is next up on my good-stuff-to-try list!!
Yay! Hope you enjoy it! (but hey, there’s nothing wrong with falafel, either!) 😉
This is great! I love making farinata and always thought it had a nice eggy consistency. I hadn’t thought to turn it into a quiche. Brilliant! I will definitely give this a go soon!
Great, Brigid! Let me know what you think of it in this format! 🙂
Ricki, my girl! You did this up Proud! I know, I know, not proper English! I wanted you to know that I thought this looks great! I look forward to making it!
Please, do the linky thing with my blog.
Blessings,
Jeanie
Thanks so much, Jeanie! Glad it appeals. 🙂 I’m not sure what you mean by “the linky thing”–do you have a linky event on your blog? If so, I couldn’t find it.
Ricki,
I’m sorry! I meant can you add my blog to your blog/web site list? I just added yours to my blog!
I made your Chickpea Quizza! I added some chicken pieces to it. Oh my gosh, it was so yummy! I so love how you mix all the ingredients together and then it magically forms the crust at the bottom! Thanks so much for sharing that!
Yay! So glad you liked it! It has quickly become an all-time favorite in our house. And yes, of course I’ll add you to the list. 🙂
Thanks ever so much for your kind comment on my falafel recipe, I am becoming more of a vegetarian as each year approaches. Your pizza made with chickpea flour sounds amazing! Got to love those chickpeas.
Thanks, Val! I’m looking forward to making those falafel as well. 🙂
Looks and sounds fantastic! I was making dinner with chickpea flour just last night and had an internal debate over whether to pile stuff on top or mix it into the batter. Ended up making a chickpea pancake and piling veggies on top.
Also great–I do that for breakfast a lot. This gave it a whole new dimension, though!
Hi Ricky,
I would love to make this recipe; it looks/sounds really appealing. But I’m not sure what a quiche pan is. I have a 9-inch Pyrex traditional pie plate with a fluted edge. Would that work, do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Jo,
Thanks for your comment, and for reading! I think a quiche pan is slightly larger than a regular pie plate. I’d say that if you want to put this in a pie plate, you may need to either cut the recpe by about 1/3 or make it in two smaller pans (maybe one pie plate and a bunch of muffins?). So you’d use 1-1/2 cups flour, 4 tsp (1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp) oil, and 2 cups plus 1 Tbsp water–I THINK those proportions are correct, but check it out when you make it! Any math whizzes out there? 😉 You also have to be sure that the Pyrex is okay in such a high heat–don’t want it to explode on you!
Thanks so much for crunching the numbers for me! Much appreciated. I just realized, I spelled your name wrong…sorry! Won’t do it again!
Good point about the Pyrex. I’ll see if I can find something safer.
Hope it’s right! Let me know how it turns out (and I seem to recall that Pyrex is made to withstand high heat. . . I’m sure Google would know!). 😉
This looks fabulous to me, as a lover of all things chickpea. It reminds me so much of the Spanish tortilla I recently made, except yours is baked, and I made mine on the stove. (Couldn’t bare to turn on the oven, though last winter my chickpea flour creations were baked. No AC = no oven.) Now I think I’m going to have to make one asap, since it’s been at least a week since my last bite.:)
I’m sure this would work on the stovetop, too, as long as you made it a lot smaller. 😉 But the texture wouldn’t be quite the same. . . still good, though! With the weather the way it’s been, I don’t blame you for not wanting to turn on the oven! (And that tortilla sounds great, too). 🙂
I love socca pizza so I will definitely be trying this Ricki! I love it when slightly switching up a recipe turns out to be a success! And if the HH ate 3 pieces, well! I am in!
It’s true–such a slight switchup and it seemed to make all the difference. The HH did top his with additional goat cheese. . . but that’s just his way. 😉
Ricki, I am so impressed with this recipe – who would have thought that you could make quiche/pizza with chickpea flour? I’ve definitely bookmarked this to try at a later date!
It came as a surprise to me, too! 😉 Let me know what you think if you do give it a try! 🙂
looks delicious – there is a recipe for a farinata in the recent denis potter cookbook that I love – I enjoy using chickpea flour but find it has quite a distinctive taste that I have had in some foods where it wasn’t quite right (and yet it works fabulously in brownies) but my stash has got down to a small amount – not enough to use but too much to justify buying more – I think the time is night for more in my cooking!
That sounds like a great cookbook–must look it up! And chickpea flour in brownies sounds like a brilliant idea (on your blog?). I think you’re right, it’s time for more–go for it!
yes I have posted this recipe – http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2009/08/weekend-of-brownies.html – it is a fairly traditional sort of brownie recipe but worked really well with besan.
Checking it out asap! Thanks! 🙂
ooh, this makes me happy, i just picked up some chickpea flour!! i need to quit my day job…
Ha, ha! I know, those pesky day jobs. . . ! 😉
Quiche!!! And Hugh Jackman! I completely agree with your assessment that entertainers of yore had to have the whole package. Now people people are one-trick ponies and it gets very old and very repetitive very quickly.
-Sarah
I have to agree. Someone like Britney Spears is really showing the strain these days. . . she doesn’t have anything different to offer.
Wow, this looks amazing!!! With a couple adjustments it could totally be a safe option for us. Thanks for sharing, I found you via AFF. Have a great weekend!
Thanks so much! (And thanks, Cybele!). Glad it appeals. Let me know what you think if you do give it a try! 🙂
this looks simply amazing!
Cheryl, is chickpea flour on your “okay” list? I really hope so–I think you’ll love it! 🙂
Wow I had no idea about Hugh Jackman, interesting! Love the sound of this “quizza”. I actually have a big bag of chickpea flour that I hardly ever use so this would be a perfect thing to try out.
This sounds and looks amazing. Thank you!
Thanks so much! It’s become a real staple in our kitchen. 🙂
Although it might take me a long time to get through my saved recipes I never forget about them…Made this tonight and it’s certainly going to become a regular, delicious! I made it as stated but halved it and baked it in a smaller pan (as i’m just cooking for me and didn’t want a ton of leftovers). So impressed how quiche like it is, yummy and creamy and firmed up really well too after cooling so a big slice will make a yummy packed lunch 🙂
Oh and I can’t believe how filling it is- about a 3rd of the half recipe and I was stuffed!
Thanks again.
The most noticeable attribute for me was also how filling it is! And tasty, of course 😉 So glad you liked it!! And thanks so much for coming back and letting me know. 😀
I was looking this over again and wasn’t sure if anyone had had some success using a pyrex pie dish since that’s all I realized I have. Let me know. I didn’t want to make the heat too high for the pyrex.
I haven’t used my Pyrex dish for this. . . info online is conflicting (some sites say it’s okay up to 500F, others say not above 450F–so I wouldn’t risk it). Apparently, the Pyrex dishes themselves have a note etched into the bottom of the pie plate. Do you have one on yours?
Hi Ricki, I’ve been making this quizza for the past few months, the first time as written and more recently entirely with broccoli. All were made in a cast iron frying pan, cut into eight. Because it’s so filling, the six pieces left over go into the fridge and my husband usually gets the lion’s share, eaten cold. He likes it just as much as his regular order of the local restaurant’s broccoli quiche!
Anyway, for a potluck tomorrow I just made it in a 9×13 pan using spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms. I added some basil and oregano too. Smells delicious, and I’ll let you know tomorrow how it came out.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I can’t wait to hear how it came out. I love the idea of baking it in a rectangular pan–so much easier to cut and serve! 🙂 Hope the potluck enjoyed it.
The potluck was cancelled due forecast thundershowers, but no one told us! We got all the way over there (~50 kms) and found no tent, no serving tables, no one there. So my friend and I made it a girls’ day out, and she traded me part of her Russian Beet Vinaigrette salad for a couple pieces of quizza. I had cut it into 30, my husband had five of the little pieces for supper, I had three, and he’s picking away at it for snacks today. Think I’ll wrap some for lunches this week, and maybe freeze some – if it survives being snacked upon.
How awful that they didn’t even tell you it was canceled! But glad you made good use of the quizza. I recently tried that same Russian salad for the first time and really enjoyed it as well. An interesting combo, I’d say! 🙂
Did you have the salad recipe with the horseradish and grated carrots? My friend was complaining the two commercial horseradish brands she bought weren’t hot enough, but I thought the salad was perfect as was.
We made this with swiss chard, artichokes, grape tomatoes and red onion. It was a hit, thanks Ricki!
Yay! So glad you liked it! 🙂
This was more quiche than pizza to me (used sun dried tomatoes, and next time I will not be shy with them) and it was fab!. I I will remember to chop veggies small so they each get represented in each bite. I was worried about the top getting brown, but I covered it in foil and all was well in the end. (convection oven) As far as my experience goes, it was ready when it looked like custard inside, no liquid but was still soft in appearance. It hardened later. I won’t mention what condiments I used on it since they contain sugar! Will make this again.
Made this for dinner tonight . It was really good. Really quiche like. It firmed up after it cooled. Can’t believe how filling it is !
I’m vegan so left out the goat cheese, but I added a bit of nutritional yeast. Definitely making this again and will try different veggies with it .
Great recipe! tx
That’s great, Connie! Oh, and I’m vegan, too–that’s VEGAN goat cheese in the recipe! LOL! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂