Chickpea Flour Pizza – South Beach Diet Friendly
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I made this eons ago, but never posted the recipe as the picture didn’t look all that appetizing. Today while hunting through the drafts for my next post I realized that I only had chicken dishes in there. I am sure you guys have had a chicken overload by now, so I had to get this one out to give you a break from all that cluck cluck. Don’t let the lackluster picture and those burned edges deceive you, this is a great way to have pizza on South Beach Diet. As you know chickpea flour is a very SBD friendly low Glycemic index ingredient. This recipe was inspired by Soma’s Farinata with Grilled Vegetables. I am not sure whether to call this a pizza or a flat bread or a pancake with toppings. But I am going to go with pizza as that sounds the best. Feel free to call it whatever you like.
Even though the base is supposed to be a diet-alternative, to be frank I really enjoyed the taste and texture of the chickpea flour base. Even more so than some of the non-diet pizza bases I must say. Normally for me the pizza base is just something that holds all the topping goodness together, but this one actually adds a nice character to the pizza. Only problem was that it got a bit soft and soggy, so we had to use a fork and knife to eat it. But if you think about it, many thin crust pizzas and flat breads served in restaurants have the same issue too. 
This recipe is all about the base,you can use any sauce and toppings of your choice. I used some basil-almond pesto and mushrooms, spinach, roaster peppers, mozzarella and sausage as the toppings.
Ingredients
(For two pizzas, serves 4)
- 1 cup chickpea flour (besan, available in Indian and Middle eastern stores and natural food markets)
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1.5 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp mixed herbs (I used herbs de Provence)
- 1 tsp salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Toppings
- 3 tbsp pesto
- 1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms
- 1/2 cup steamed spinach
- 1 large sausage, casings removed, sliced and sauteed
- 1 cup roasted red bell peppers, cut into strips
- 1/2 cup mozzarella slices
Method
Mix the chickpea flour with water and salt and whisk till there are no lumps in the mixture. Keep it aside for 2-4 hours. Skim off the foam from the top surface of the batter. Now mix in the olive oil, herbs and the pepper.
Pre-heat the oven to 450F. Heat up a round cast iron pan or an oven proof non-stick skillet in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. Coat the bottom of the pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Pour the batter evenly to form a base of desired thickness.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness.
Alternatively you can do this on the stove top like Soma did.
Once the base is cooked through and have a nice golden brown color, remove from the oven. Spread the pesto evenly on top of the pizza. Now arrange the sauteed ingredients and finally top with the mozzarella slices. You can add some freshly ground pepper. I used some spicy seasonings while sauteing the mushrooms and sausage, so I didn’t bother adding anymore pepper here.
Set the oven to broil-high and return the pizza to the oven. Heat for 2-3 minutes under the broiler till the cheese is melted and starts to brown a bit.
Serve hot. It is quite filling. One pizza was enough for two of us for dinner.
South Bead Diet Suggestion
Since chickpea is allowed in SBD phase 1, I had this pizza in phase 1. But I have been reading lately that no flours are allowed in phase 1. So if you are a strict SBD follower, have this in phase 2 and later. But if you are the type who likes to rewrite a few rules while following a diet like me, feel free to have this in phase 1.
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Category: Phase 1, Pizzas and Flatbreads, South Beach Diet Friendly
Nice recipe. I know I have some chickpea flour kicking around the kitchen somewhere (Reminds herself to FINALLY organize the pantry). My boyfriend is doing a Palieo diet and isn’t eating a lot of refined grains so I’ll have to see if this is something he might be interested in eating.
Don’t you worry about chicken overload, keep those recipes coming! And this pic doesn’t look lacklustre to me at all. I’ve read about egg-less omelettes made with besan. So, I guess, this can also be called besan frittata. Trust you to add sausage to a besan recipe!
im sure gonna make this. We have been trying out some SBD recipes lately, ever since i got the SBD cookbook from the library.This one definitely is a great addition to it.
Next time I will make your version. Pesto sounds good.with the cheese & the sausage, now it sounds exactly like a pizza, but more healthy. I think it would be less soggy if each slice is individually topped just before eating.
I have another version ( in the blog too), which I had made in the oven. Try flipping it over & cooking the other side crisp too, may be it will be less soggy.
Sig, don’t stop the chickens from coming!
Definitely must try recipe, I am looking for gluten free recipe lately. So this one will be on trial soon.,
I don’t find anything wrong with the picture. Even if we aren’t following SBD, this recipe sounds good
oh i do like this recipe it’s a great variation and a lot lighter than the real stuff. i need to get me a bag of chickpea flour now!
Whats wrong with more chicken recipes!! I, for one, am always looking for newer ideas and there are only so many blogs which do these posts!
The chickpea flour base seems like such a good idea!!
Miri
Hey Sig, so many possibilities with this. Why should’d you try a chickpea flour dosa with all the stuffings ? Would have eaten a crispier and softer wrap too. Thanks for the wonderful idea!
Sig, this looks wonderful; great idea to use the chickpea flour. If only I had some right now, would have made it straight away!
wow! that’s a superb idea, really! and the pic is just fine Sig
yummy pizza,…
sounds interesting and way too healthy:)
Do visit my new blog when u get time:
http://thasneen.com/cooking/
Thas
Wishing you a very Happy Diwali!
Miri
Sounds GREAT, Sig!! Will give this a try when I get back to TO.
I often see ‘vegetarian omelette’ or ‘tomato omelette’ on menus – heard they were made with besan too!
I think it looks delicious! I’ve never heard of chickpea powder. Lovely creation!
This is like the besan cheela I had for breakfast when I was on this diet… the pizza idea sounds great
How have you been?
Its been 2 weeks since u posted any recipes. I sincerely hope everything is well at ur end.
Thanks for checking on me Ash! I am fine, just been a bit busy at work.
i tried the pizza just now and its yummy and delicious
thank u for posting it
Thanks for the feedback Manju! Glad you liked it.
I like the recipe but i think when somebody talk about pizza i personally never thought about chickpea flour pizza. I am on diet and i found an interesting site http://www.pizzafree.com which offer fat free frozen cheese pizza which has only 0gms of fat and only 248 calorie.You can create your own topping as you wish.
Hey Sig!
Hope you are having a gr8 vacation.
Just a quick question to you. Can we include oat meal in south beach diet Phase 1?
seems good minus the mozarella…
it looks delicious
thank you for you share