Robert's Market Report

Garbanzo Bean Flour

I love garbanzo beans (a.k.a. ceci or chickpeas) so when I saw a recipe recently using garbanzo bean flour I sought out the product, which you can buy at Jonathan's Best at the Reading Terminal Market, as well as other emporiums. (Usually it's Bob's Red Mill brand.) The inspiration was Tortillitas with Shrimp from Mark Bittman's "Minimalist" in the New York Times.

It was delicious and will join the regular rotation in my kitchen. The bean flour is mostly found in South Asian cookery, frequently as a deep-fried batter for veggies (asparagus comes up often in recipe searches). But its role as a thin pancake carrying savory ingredients is a workhorse use of this pseudo-grain. The tortillitas can be made 50-50 with all-purpose flour, which are sturdier than the lacey all-garbanzo flour versions.