March 13, 2015
I found this recipe in the Parade Magazine from our Sunday paper in August of 2008. The theme of the article was back to school pancakes. I was intrigued and tried the Hummus Snack Pancakes with Tahini Dressing a few days later. We really liked them. I remembered the recipe and found it last night. We made them with miniature greek turkey meatloaves and a chopped mediterranean salad. It was our first day with temps over 50′ and it was bright with flavor and color!

plated and ready to eat.

I have used these pancakes as a side dish but they would be delicious as a snack too. The pancakes are have a nice dense texture but still puff up into nice pillows. The flavor is savory with a strong hint of lemon. For my gluten free friends (and neighbor!) I would suggest substituting a gluten free flour blend and some garbanzo or fava bean flour (I happen to have some and used a few tablespoons added to the regular flour). The chick peas get mashed up in the food processor and give most of the bulk to the pancakes.

chick peas, tahini, garlic and lemon ready for processing.

I did not use the canned garbanzo liquid in the batter as I think it has too much salt. I just substituted water instead. Depending upon how carefully the flour is measured – or what type of flour you use, the water can be increased to get the consistency to your liking. My batter was pretty thick so I used more water than the recipe calls for. Many of you may not have used tahini before. It is sesame seed paste and is often used in Middle Eastern cooking. It has a lot of protein and a nice nutty flavor. Most typically it is used to make hummus. It can be stored in your refrigerator for a long time. I find it in the international food aisle at my local grocery store. I used two large cloves of garlic. I would not suggest using more – but it is personal preference – you don’t want the garlic to overpower the pancake.

dry ingredients ready to add to the food processor.

The original recipe for the sauce calls for mayonnaise but I substituted half of the mayonaise with plain yogurt. It does make the sauce a little more sour – but with 1/2 cup mayonaise, it is still rich and creamy. I also added additional water to thin the sauce down a little.

You can see the sauce is a little thick – I ended up adding a little more water and lemon juice to thin it.

When cooking the pancakes, you will need to add a little more olive oil to the pan after each batch as the pancakes soak up any oil in the pan. Wait until the cakes begin to show air holes that pop open before turning so the first side is set enough. The second side will not take as long to brown and set the inside of the pancakes.

you can see the air holes just beginning to pop.

nice golden brown first side.

These pancakes are best when fresh – but can be re-heated for leftovers. We’ll be having our leftovers for lunch this weekend!

Hummus Snack Pancakes with Tahini Dressing

Serves 6

Preparation time approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients

 

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Pancake Ingredients

1/2 cup flour ( can use gluten free flour with some garbanzo/fava bean flour )
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 cup canned chickepeas, drained (reserved liquid)
1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup reserved chickpea liquid – or water
1 to 3 cloves of garlic, crushed – to taste
juice of 2 lemons
2 large eggs

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Dressing Ingredients

1 cup mayonaise (or half mayonaise and half plain yogurt)
1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs tahini,
1/4 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste

Instructions

Whisk Dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Put the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and pulse until flour disappears. Do not over mix or pancakes will be tough.

Lightly oil a skillet and preheat it over medium heat. For each pancake, drop 1/4 cup batter onto skillet, leaving room for spreading. Cook until the bottoms are lightly golden; flip and cook the other side. Cool slightly before serving and top with chopped salad (I used red peppers, cucumbers, shallots, chopped parsley, and tomatoes – with lemon juice and olive oil dressing and zataar spice blend). Dip into dressing.

To make dressing, whisk all ingredients together. Add additional water or lemon juice to get desired consistency. This can be made ahead and chilled.

 

Notes