Want a quick, filling, high-protein breakfast? Try this chickpea omelette

Looking for a quick and delicious way to refuel after a workout or to power your day? This vegan omelette recipe from Bettina Campolucci Bordi’s Happy Vegan Food is just the ticket.

If you think that chickpeas are only good for veggie curries or hummus, think again. The humble legume has so many uses, from doubling up as a gluten-free flour to providing a credible plant-based alternative to eggs. It’s not just texture that matters; chickpeas are high in protein – so an omelette made with chickpea is going to stand up well against the eggy original. In fact, studies suggest that the quality of protein in chickpeas may actually be higher than in other plants, thanks to the fact that they contain nearly every essential amino acids. 

As well as being high in vitamin A, E and C (all antioxidants needed for a strong immune system, healthy skin and good brain health), they’re also packed with folate, magnesium, manganese, potassium and iron.

Their fibre and protein content makes them an ideal breakfast food as those two nutrients slow down digestion – making us fuller for longer.

Ingredients

70 g (1/2 cup) chickpea (gram) flour

125 ml (1/2 cup) water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Small pinch of ground turmeric (for colour)

1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/4 red (bell) pepper, finely chopped

Olive oil, for frying

For the filling

Handful of rocket or baby spinach

1 avocado, sliced

1 small spring onion (scallion), chopped

1 tbsp pomegranate seeds, optional

For the mango salsa

1 tomato, finely chopped

1/2 mango, flesh finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped coriander

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 red chilli, chopped

Drizzle of olive oil

Method

Start by putting all the omelette ingredients into a bowl, except for the shallot and pepper.

Give everything a good mix and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the salsa. Add all the ingredients to a bowl, give it a good mix and set aside.

In a hot frying pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and fry the shallot and pepper for about five minutes.

Next, add the omelette mixture to the pan exactly as you would a traditional omelette and make sure it is evenly spread over the base. 

Fry for five minutes and then flip it over to cook the other side.

Get out a serving plate and transfer the omelette to it. Add one handful of rocket on one side, a spoonful or two of mango salsa, some sliced avocado, some spring onion and the pomegranate seeds, if using. 

You can choose to eat the omelette flat or fold it over on one side so that its shaped like a half moon. Eat immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Happy Vegan Food by Bettina Campolucci Bordi (Hardie Grant, £15).

Photography: ©Nassima Rothacker.

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