Just because you may be egg free or vegan doesn’t mean you can’t have frittata! AND you don’t have to solely rely on soy (usually tofu) to fill this “gap”. Most all egg substitutes are soy-based: think tofu scramble. And I’m soy-free, along with my restaurant… my body / mind doesn’t do well with soy (I’ll save the details on that for another future post). It’s so nice to have an alternative that is JUST as good if not, I think, better.
This was one of the most exciting days of my life when I realized I can make a soy-free vegan “omelette” or “frittata”. Of course it’s not exactly the same and there are some differences. It definitely takes more effort to make. But it’s not by any means all that hard. And it’s SO WORTH IT. This is one of my all-time favorite breakfast / brunch foods. That I’ll happily eat for dinner, lunch, whenever. When we special this at Superfresh! I ALWAYS make sure to set aside at least one serving for myself (usually a second to take home for another day).
These pack some good protein punch with chickpea (garbanzo) flour and flax meal. Have a little turmeric + black pepper for some anti-inflammatory love. And you can fill / modify with whatever veggies and herbs you want!
Some of my favorite veggies to load in are: spinach or kale, criminal or shiitake mushrooms, parsley or leeks or scallions, red bell pepper, potato, sweet potato, broccoli, onion. I usually choose 3.
These are also another great meal prep item to have ready to go for the week. While you can bake it in a full 9” round or use the batter like you would an omelette (or even scramble it a bit with a rubber spatula), I really enjoy baking these in individual muffin tins. Great to freeze extra to have for later!
Frittata served with Ultimate Homefries, kale salad, chipotle aioli, and cashew cheeze at Superfresh!
Not Yo Mama's "Frittata" (Vegan / Soy-free)
Yields 1, 9” round OR 10-12 individual “muffin” (~5-8 servings)
The servings vary on this. For a 9” round, I’d cut it into 8 pieces (8 servings). For the muffin form, I’d say 2 pieces = 1 serving for a full breakfast versus a light meal / snack.
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp flax meal + 3/4 cup warm water
1 1/3 cups chickpea (garbanzo) flour
1 1/4 cup filtered or spring water
1 tsp salt (I use pink fine ground Himalayan)
1/2 tsp black salt*
1/2 tsp garlic powder (can leave out if you have a garlic allergy)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp fine ground black pepper
2 tsp baking powder
Veggies of your choosing :)
*If you don’t have black salt you can simply leave that out. The black salt does give these a bit of a “sulphur” flavor reminiscent of eggs. I have done it both ways and I prefer it with, but it is a bit harder to find sometimes.
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C)
In a small bowl whisk flax meal and 3/4 cup warm water together. Set aside to gel into flax “egg”.
In a separate medium mixing bowl whisk together chickpea flour, salt, black salt, garlic powder, turmeric, black pepper, and baking powder.
Add flax “egg” and 1 1/14 cup water to dry ingredients and whisk until well combined. Looking for no clumps.
Add desired veggies
Thoroughly coat muffin pans with oil (I use coconut) or insert baking cups
Fill the muffin pans with the veggie-filled batter, trying to evenly distribute veggies. They don’t rise too much, so I fill all the way for 10 pieces.
Bake muffins for ~20 minutes, until fully cooked - test with a fork to make sure inside is done.
Eat them up!!
NOTES:
For the round pan, the bake time will be a bit longer. I will test that out soon and insert time here. Check after 20 minutes and cook until center is done.
You can use this batter for omelettes. I’ll write a separate post on that. But for now, you can try it out by cooking the batter like a crepe on a hot, oiled pan. Cook it like a pancake or crepe - you want to see the little bubbles start to form before adding veggies, then flip. I don’t fold it like I do omelettes. I find the inside cooks better if you just flip the veggies with it. Play and see what works for you! Enjoy :)