Tortillitas With Shrimp
Mark Bittman introduces a little known savory pancake made with chickpea flour. These cute little no-egg pancakes, originally from Andalusia, feature chickpea flour, shrimp or other seafood, onion, herbs and olive oil. Not much else. Yet they are a near-perfect appetizer or small meal, quickly and easily made. Most people, it seems, make the batter with half chickpea and half regular flours. If you use all chickpea, because there is no gluten, you get a crisper, more fragile result, one that is perhaps more flavorful. But I prefer the mixed flours for the slight pull and chewiness. At Taberna Toscana the shrimp were small, local and fresh. When I got home, I tried skate, scallops, ordinary shrimp and salt cod. All were great. You don’t need much fish; it’s a fish-flavored pancake, not a bunch of fish cooked in batter. I included a little baking powder because it makes the pancake easier to handle when you flip it. The amount of water you use in the batter may vary, but know that what you’re after is thin pancake batter. Many recipes suggest refrigerating the batter for an hour or more before cooking, supposedly so the flour absorbs more liquid and the batter cooks more evenly. In theory that may be true, but I can’t tell the difference. In any case, the batter doesn’t suffer from resting.
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion or scallions
About 1/2 cup raw shrimp, chopped, or scallops or other shellfish or fish
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped chives, parsley, thyme or cilantro
Olive oil.
1. In a bowl, combine flours and baking powder with salt and pepper. Add a little more than a cup of water and stir to combine; consistency should resemble pancake batter (if batter is too thick, add more water, a little at a time). Stir in the onions, chopped shrimp and herbs.
2. Put a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and film its bottom generously with olive oil. When oil is hot, pour in half the batter until it fills center of pan; spread gently with a spoon to form a large pancake.
3. Cook about 3 minutes, or until pancake is set around edges; flip pancake and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, then flip it again and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until it is crisp on outside but still moist inside. Remove from pan and serve immediately, while remaining batter cooks.