Chickpea and Vegetable Pancakes

The baby has had a rough week what with a virus and pushing through her top two teeth. This made her a terrible sleeper and a worse eater. Now that she is feeling better, I wanted to find something new and nutritious to tempt her palate. Enter chickpea pancakes. I discovered socca recently when looking for a good GF appetizer and I am familiar with pakoras. I knew that there must be a way to make a carrot and chickpea flour pancake. I did an Internet search and found a few good candidates. I took ideas from each and made my own thing. We are getting wonderful free-range organic eggs from a friend these days, so I knew I wanted egg yolk in there. I threw in some kale because, well, I always throw in kale. I wouldn't say that this first batch is exciting since I didn't put in any spices, but I like the texture and subtle flavor and feel it could be a good blank canvas for spices (Indian, Moroccan, Middle Eastern come to mind, maybe even my beloved smoked paprika) and veggies such as sweet potato, regular potato, summer squash,etc. No idea what the baby thinks yet but this one will be in the family rotation for a while.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. chickpea flour
1/4 c. plus 1 TBSP water
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Spices to taste adding up to no more than 1/4-1/2 tsp
1/4 c. grated vegetable (carrot, potato, summer squash, etc)
1-2 TBSP finely chopped or ground kale
Olive oil for the pan

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine chickpea flour, water, salt, spices and baking powder in a small bowl. Stir in the grated vegetables
2. Heat about 1tsp olive oil in a small pan on medium-high heat. I like to use our small cast iron pan
3. Add a large spoonful (about 1/8 c. I'd guess) to the pan and cook until set on the top and lightly brown on the bottom
4. Flip and cook on the other side until the middle springs back when touched. The pancakes cook in 2-3 minutes total
5. Remove from pan and serve, maybe with some sort of delicious dipping sauce or an unsweetened fruit sauce for baby