Autumn Lentil Salad with Chickpea Pancakes

This autumn lentil salad served over chickpea pancakes is a protein-packed meal that’s easy to make and makes use of the best of the season’s produce. Serve this salad warm or cold, as a main or as a side. It’s great as a make-ahead meal or to take to a potluck. Is there anything this salad doesn’t do?

So you’ll notice that I’m totally on a lentils kick right now. It was just a couple days ago that I published this red lentil chili recipe and now I’m back with another, this time featuring good old brown lentils. There’s been a chill in the air and pomegranates in the supermarket so I thought it the perfect time to put together this autumn lentil salad recipe!

I make this salad on a lark over the weekend with some odds and ends I had leftover in my fridge. I also have a very overgrown basil plant on my roof (yes, I garden on my roof) which was in desperate need of pruning so it all came together into this autumn lentil salad.

Turns out that everything works so well together: the earthiness of the lentils, the sweetness of the sweet potato, the juiciness of the pears and pomegranate, and the bitterness of the arugula. It’s all tied together with a tangy, herby orange-basil dressing and bulked up with a tasty chickpea pancake to serve on the side or as a base to pile the lentil salad high on top of. Not only is this autumn lentil salad delicious, it’s nice to look at too!

The chickpea pancake is a sort of a French socca or Italian farinata. It’s super simple: just chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil. If you don’t have it already, chickpea flour is a great addition to a vegan pantry. I use it to make vegan quiches, vegan omelettes, Burmese tofu, and these gluten-free savoury pancakes.

I like to bake my chickpea pancakes because they get nice, slightly charred bits on top. I’m lucky enough to have four 15 cm (6 inch) oven-safe pans I can stick in the oven all at once and get four perfect pancakes. If you don’t, you can make one big pancake in a large oven-safe dish (it doesn’t matter if it’s round or not) and cut it up to serve or you can make them one by one on a pan over medium-high heat on the stove.