I know everyone is very excited about the Just Egg and Vegan Egg, but for eating I prefer tofu scrambles and chickpea omelettes (for baking the Just Egg is very good). The first time I had a chickpea omelette was a few years ago at Peacefood Cafe. Although I quite enjoyed it, I never actually tried making one myself. That changed when I was planning our dinner for New Year’s Eve. I knew I was going to make a Tofurky ham for part of the meal. I also know that there would be a lot left over. While I could easily use the left over in sandwiches or the Tofu Benedict in NYC Vegan, I wanted to do something else. Back in my prevegan days, I quite enjoyed omelettes filled with ham and cheese. Knowing I would have this left over Tofurky ham, I decided January 1, 2019, would be the day to finally make a chickpea omelette.

The great thing about a chickpea omelette, much like a tofu scramble, is that we can fill it with what ever we have in our fridge. For this one, I used the aforementioned ham, some scallions, spinach and violife cheese. I also topped it with some avocado because, well, avocado. The omelette basics will be the same no matter what we use to fill it. Regardless of what we use to fill our chickpea omelette, we have to cook the filling before adding it in. It is worth noting that the omelette batter will taste awful when it not cooked. However, once cooked, the taste completely changes.

1 cup chickpea flour
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black salt (optional – if not using, add an additional 1/4 teaspoon regular salt)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced Tofurky ham
3 scallions, chopped – white and green parts
2 cups fresh spinach
1 slice vegan cheese cut into 2 pieces
1/2 avocado, sliced  (optional)

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic power, baking soda, turmeric, salt, black salt, and pepper. Add the water and mix well. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham, scallions and spinach. Sauté until the spinach is wilted down, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup of omelette batter the pan and spread it out. Allow it to cook for 3 minutes, or until bubbles start forming on the surface. Add 1/2 of the ham mixture to one side of the omelette. Top with 1/2 slice of the vegan cheese. Using a spatula, fold the omelette in half. Turn off the heat and over the pan with a lid. Allow the omelette to steam for 4 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Transfer the omelette to a plate and repeat with the remaining oil, batter and filling to make a second omelette.

4. Top each omelette with the sliced avocado.

Yield: 2 omelettes