Beet Pancakes with Hummus

Ingredients

• 200 g dried chickpeas
• 2 yellow bell peppers
• 45 g pumpkin seeds (3 tbsp)
• 400 g canned chickpeas (drained weight)
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp tahini (30 g; sesame paste)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 250 g beetroot (2 bulbs)
• 250 ml milk (3.5% fat)
• 75 g spelt whole‑grain flour
• 45 g cashew nuts (3 tbsp)
• 15 g chopped pistachios (1 tbsp)
• 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
• Pepper
• 0.5 bunch arugula (40 g)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak dried chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. The next day drain, rinse, place in a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil. Simmer covered on low heat for 50 minutes until tender.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, clean the bell peppers, wash, halve them, skin side up on parchment‑lined baking sheet and bake at 220 °C (fan 200 °C; gas 3–4) for 15 minutes. Roast pumpkin seeds in a hot pan over medium heat without oil, cool and roughly chop. Let the pepper halves cool slightly, peel and cut into strips.

3. 3.

   For the hummus, rinse and drain canned chickpeas, reserving 2 tbsp of liquid. Puree both finely. Peel and mince 2 garlic cloves and add to the chickpeas. Mix in tahini, lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin and 1 tbsp oil to make hummus. Season with salt and set aside.

4. 4.

   For the pancakes, whisk 2 eggs and the yolk in a tall bowl. Peel, halve beetroot and set aside one half; dice the other half, add salt and milk, then puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add flour, mix well and refrigerate.

5. 5.

   To make falafel, drain cooked chickpeas and let them dry. Dice remaining beetroot. Peel remaining garlic. Blend all with cashew nuts and pistachios using an immersion blender. Add the remaining eggs and season with cumin seeds, leftover cumin, salt and pepper. With damp hands roll into 3 cm balls. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan. Fry the balls over medium heat for 5–7 minutes on all sides until golden; remove and drain.

6. 6.

   Heat ¼ tbsp oil in a pan. Drop a ladleful of batter, spread thinly and cook over medium heat, flipping after 2 minutes, then remove. Repeat for the remaining pancakes. Toss arugula with salt and dry it.

7. 7.

   Spread hummus on each pancake, top one half with pepper strips, arugula and seeds, and place falafel on top. Fold pancakes in quarters. Serve two pancakes per plate and offer extra hummus on the side.