Chickpea Pancake with Caramelized Onion Applesauce

At a party last weekend, a friend told me about the chickpea pancake she had gotten at brunch that morning. It sounded so great and reminded me of the first time I heard about chickpea pancakes. I was about 14 and my older (cooler) friend worked as a waitress at a (the only) fancy restaurant in our hometown. They served chickpea pancakes. I remember being totally fascinated by them. You mean a not-necessarily-for-breakfast pancake made from not-Bisquick? Crazy (delicious)!

So last weekend, with the BBC's help, I set out to make my own chickpea pancakes. The pancakes themselves are vegan and gluten-free and would be lovely paired with all kinds of chutneys. I happened to have a huge batch of homemade applesauce on hand, so I mixed up a butter-town (nsfv) caramelized onion applesauce to accompany them.

Caramelized Onion Applesauce

1 cup applesauce (homemade instructions below)
6 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Making applesauce is very, very easy. Peel and roughly chop some apples. Put them into a large, heavy bottom pan with a 1/2 inch of water, and cook until the fruit breaks down. Mash, cool and store. You can also freeze this in batches.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet, add the onions, then the sugar and spices. Toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the onions begin to brown.

Add the salt and vinegar, then transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, until the onions are falling-apart-tender.

Scoop the onions out of the pan and chop them up a bit. I used kitchen scissors to cut them into small pieces. Combine the onions with the applesauce. You can leave the butter behind in the pan, or not...

Pancake

5oz chickpea flour, sifted
approx. 1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 banana peppers, finely chopped
1 Hungarian hot wax pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
about 3 tbsp grape seed (or other neutral) oil

Place the chickpea flour into a large mixing bowl and add the water, stirring, until a thin, smooth batter forms. Add the salt, fennel seeds, onion, peppers, garlic, and cilantro. Stir to combine and let the batter rest for about 15 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Oil it, then pour or spoon the batter on as you would any pancake. Cook covered for a few minutes, then flip and cook uncovered for a minute more.