Chickpea flour has a savoury, nutty taste which tastes great in classic onion bhajis and chickpea pancakes. Use chickpea flour to also make a delicious gluten-free pizza base.

Chickpea flour (also known as besan and gram flour) is gluten free unlike wheat flour and a source of many nutrients including:

• Protein  – protein and fibre combined in chickpeas can help with blood sugar management
• Fibre – Between 65-75% of the fibre found in chickpeas is insoluble. This type of fibre remains undigested all the way down to the final segment of your large intestine (colon). Recent studies have shown that chickpea fibre can be metabolised by bacteria in the colon to release short chain fatty acids, which fuel the cells lining your intestinal wall. This may help lower the risks of colon problems. Chickpea fibre may also help to lower excess cholesterol/blood fats and creates a feeling of fullness.
• Minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese)
• Anti-oxidants (beta-carotene, vitamin E)
• Vitamins (K, B1,B2,B3,B5, B6, high in folic acid,)

An easy pizza base may be made from a combination of shredded courgettes, herbs and chickpea flour. 

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour
1 courgette
1 tsp dried herbs (oregano, marjoram and basil)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp melted clarified butter

Method

1. First set the oven to 180^oC and lightly grease a suitable baking tray with some clarified butter
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together: 1 cup chickpea flour, bicarbonate of soda, herbs, salt and pepper
   
3. Next, mix the seasoned chickpea flour with enough water to make a thick batter.
   
4. Grate half of the courgette and mix into the chickpea batter.
   
5. Turn the batter out onto the greased baking tray and smooth it down with the back of a spoon into a round shape for the base.
   
6. Place pizza base into a hot oven for around 5 minutes so that it firms up but isn’t fully cooked.
   
7. Top the pizza base with sliced fresh tomato and lots of fresh veggies.
   
8. Brush the top of the pizza with a little melted clarified butter and then sprinkle on some herbs, black pepper and a little salt over the pizza toppings.
9. Put pizza back in the oven until the veggies were done. This takes around 5 minutes.
10. Finally I finsih pizza off with a drizzle of olive oil and some shredded spinach
    

Looks great, quick and easy to do. There’s no kneading or rolling out required for this pizza base. 

Variations

There are so many possibilities for variation in the pizza base. The courgettes could be left out from the base or replaced with onions, garlic, grated carrot, shredded cauliflower, chopped parsley and so on. Sprouted grains like buckwheat could even be blended and mixed into the chickpea batter. Cooked mashed starchy vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash may aslo be mixed into the base. I’ve even used blended leftover cooked rice mixed into the batter and it turned out great.

The chickpea base has a distinct flavour, which comes through beautifully and is incredibly filling too!

Other Toppings

I’ve tried this with pizza with a toppings of vegetables with fresh pesto, homemade tomato pizza sauce, cooked mincemeat, roast chicken, sliced boiled eggs, beans or goat’s cheese. Choose your favourite toppings for this tasty pizza.