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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
10 minutes
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Serves
4
Author Notes
This recipe is a celebration of every bit of the tomato—juice, seeds, and all—plus a happy destination for leftover rice (or whatever grains and beans you have). It’s inspired by Leah Chase, the late chef of Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans, whose Rice Pancakes with Ham & Tomato-Basil Sauce very much do the same. (Ms. Chase’s recipe is a Genius Recipe, also on Food52.)
For my riff on her recipe, I called on my other favorite way to fully appreciate ripe tomatoes: sliced, sprinkled with salt, drizzled with olive oil, then left to puddle for a few minutes. My family calls this summer side simply, iconically, “Juicy Tomatoes.” The pancakes are nubbled with brown rice and crushed chickpeas for a little heft, and rice flour just to see if they could be both gluten-free and vegetarian (they can!). Serve them hot and crisp and let the juicy tomatoes spill into every craggy edge.
A few tips: Feel free to riff on the rice, chickpeas, and rice flour, swapping in other leftover grains, legumes, or flours. Just make sure to keep the volumes roughly the same and note that a higher proportion of wetter ingredients, like beans or chickpeas, will make for less crispy, though no less delicious, pancakes. Since different flours (even different rice flours) will absorb liquids differently, you might want to fry off a small test pancake, then tinker at the end. Too runny? Add a little more flour, rice, or crushed chickpeas. Too thick? Stir in a little more milk. And yes, canned chickpeas and packaged, pre-cooked brown rice work perfectly. —Kristen Miglore
Test Kitchen Notes
Adapted from Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People (Ten Speed Press, September 27, 2022). —Food52
Ingredients
- For the pancakes:
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2
large eggs
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1/2 cup
drained, cooked chickpeas
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1 1/2 cups
cooked brown rice
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1/2 cup
(60 grams) sweet rice flour (I use Mochiko)
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3/4 teaspoon
baking powder
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1 1/4 teaspoons
fine sea salt
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1/2 cup
milk, any kind
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1/4 cup
neutral oil, such as canola
- For the juicy tomatoes:
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2 cups
ripe summer tomatoes, roughly chopped
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1/8 teaspoon
fine sea salt, plus more to taste
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1 tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil
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1 handful
soft herbs, such as mint, tarragon, and/or Thai basil, torn
Directions
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Make the pancake batter: In a small bowl, crack the eggs, then beat well with a fork. In a medium bowl, smash the chickpeas lightly with a fork until none are left whole, then add the rice, flour, and salt and stir well. Slowly pour in the eggs while continuing to stir, then add the milk and beat everything together well.
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Make the juicy tomatoes: Just before cooking the pancakes, in a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes, salt, and olive oil. Sprinkle the torn herbs on top and let sit at room temperature to get juicy while you finish the pancakes. If you’d like to keep the pancakes warm while you’re cooking, heat the oven to 200°F. Set a rimmed sheet pan fitted with a wire rack into the center of the oven and add pancakes in a single layer as they’re finished.
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Cook the pancakes: Set a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and pour in the oil. When the oil is hot enough that a drop of batter sizzles right away, use a large spoon or ¼ cup (60ml) measuring cup to stir the batter, then scoop it into the pan, leaving about 3 inches between each pancake. If the pancakes are quite mounded, flatten and spread them lightly with the back of the spoon or cup. Cook until golden on one side, about 4 minutes, then use a wide spatula to flip each one and brown the other side, about 4 minutes. With the spatula, lift the pancakes onto the wire rack in the oven, or to a platter. Serve the pancakes with juicy tomatoes and herbs spooned over the top.
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Leftover pancakes will keep well in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few days. To crisp the pancakes, heat on a sheet pan under the broiler, flipping once (watch closely so they don’t burn). The juicy tomatoes are best eaten right away.
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