Fried No-Egg Sandwich

How can you make a fried egg sandwich without eggs? Enter chickpea flour! This ingenious little ingredient is the secret behind socca AKA farinata, that beloved mediterranean street food. It’s also popular in Indian subcontinent cuisines. Being simply ground chickpeas, chickpea flour is ridiculously nutritious. And, importantly, it allows you to whip up meals easily and quickly.

A chickpea flour crepe makes an excellent swap for a fried egg. By cooking only one side of the crepe, the top will retain a soft, custardy texture, while the bottom browns to a crisp. This replicates the satisfying textures of a fried egg sandwich nicely.

This recipe comes to us from Anna Pippus of Easy Animal Free.

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Serves 1

Ingredients:

• Oil for the pan
• 1/3 cup finely ground chickpea flour (may also be labelled gram flour, besan, or garbanzo flour)*
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp water 1/4 tsp kala namak* OR regular salt
• Toasted bread
• Anything else you like: vegan mayo, sliced tomato, lettuce, vegan cheese slices, avocado…

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together chickpea flour, water, and salt. Add the water slowly in stages to avoid clumping. Alternatively, if you get clumps, allow the batter to sit for about 10 minutes for the clumps to dissolve.

3. Coat the hot pan with a thin layer of cooking oil and pour in the batter. Swirl around the pan a little to get an even layer.

4. Cook the crepe for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the top is opaque, you can smell it getting toasty, and a peek underneath with a flipper shows a nice brown underside.

5. Use your flipper to fold in the edges of your crepe to roughly approximate the size and shape of your bread. (Fold the vegan cheese in here to melt, if using.)

6. Build your sandwich with your ingredients of choice!

*NOTES:

A more finely ground chickpea flour is preferable—it feels like all-purpose flour when you rub it in your fingers. If you are using a stone ground or other coarse grind (that feels more like whole wheat flour or cornmeal in your fingers) it may behave differently. For one thing, once the batter is mixed, it’ll probably need at least 30 minutes to fully hydrate. Also, you may find to get a suitably thin batter, you need more water. The consistency you’re going for is milky—It shouldn’t look or feel like cream.

Kala namak is salt with a sulphuric taste, which will make the crepe taste more like eggs. But if you can’t find it or don’t want to buy it, regular salt works perfectly fine.

The top of the crepe will start to turn opaque before the underside is fully brown, so rely first on your nose then on your flipper to monitor for doneness.