recipe: chickpea spätzle with shallots and collard greens

you're all in so much trouble for not telling me how good the carrie diaries is. (it is good, right?) since i finished season one of orange is the new black i've been swimming in bedtime story loneliness because there are only so many passable made-for-tv christmas movies. 

i have scotch eggs to make this week. and potstickers. the kinds of things that i can't have distractions for, so part of me wishes that i had saved my discovery of the carrie diaries until next week when i make the long ass trek home (!!!). 

in other equally as exciting news, i combed my dreadlocks out! actually eggboy did. on friday, i tried to curl my hair, and when i found myself wrapping one massive dread around the curler, i decided enough was enough. and it was good timing, now that i don't have to wear my hair up to work at the bakery every day.  

it was a swell way to spend our extra hour yesterday. (how did you spend your extra hour?) 

eggboy is good with that kind of stuff... combing out dreads, tolerating girlie tv shows, helping me with my dirty donut dishes even though he's probably never eaten a donut. his generosity makes me want to reciprocate with gluten-free goodness. i'll substitute all the all-purpose flour in the world for a few good dread-combing sessions. 

so today in gluten-free goodness: chickpea spätzle.

chickpea flour is one of my favorite gf flours. it's so versatile and it adds a great new depth of flavor. it's also very healthy!  

soon, i'll need to do a gf schnitzel to go with this. 

chickpea spätzle with shallots and collard greens 

makes 2-4 servings 

ingredients 

olive oil

2 large shallots, chopped

2 large leaves of collard greens, stemmed and cut into ribbons

1 1/2 c chickpea flour

salt and pepper, to taste

a pinch of nutmeg

1/2 c milk (i use almond milk) 

2 eggs 

chili flakes, to taste

clues 

in a large pan over medium low heat, heat a bit of olive oil and add the shallots. blanch the collard greens by placing them in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. remove them with a slotted spoon and then add them to the pan with the shallots. keep the water boiling for the spätzle.

turn your attention to the spätzle, but keep an eye on the pan so that the shallots don't burn (turn the heat down to low if needed). 

in a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. in a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture.

using a rubber spatula, press the batter through a slotted spoon or a colander (or a spätzle maker if you real fancy) and straight into the boiling water. boil for 2-3 minutes, drain, and then add to the pan with the greens and shallots. 

toss with a bit more olive oil, add the pinch of chili flakes, and then more salt and pepper if needed. cook for a few minutes and then serve with schnitzel or all on its own.

-yeh!