Broccoli and I used to be on not such great terms. It wasn't as bad as my past relationship with grapefruit, but I generally just avoided it. After becoming vegan, I decided to bring more broccoli into my life (grapefruit could stay out, as far as I was concerned). My search for broccoli recipes led me to Kathy Patalsky of Healthy Happy Life's Maple-Roasted Cheezy Broccoli.
Everything about this recipe perplexed me. Maple syrup? On Broccoli? With Nutritional Yeast and Soy sauce? What? It was such a strange collection of ingredients that I "pinned" it immediately, knowing that I was going to make it soon. A couple days later, for the first time in a very long time, I purchased broccoli for my own consumption (I get it for Sophia all the time). This is one of the most simple, yet extraordinarily tasty broccoli dishes you will ever make. The cheesiness of the nutritional yeast combined with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the saltiness of the soy sauce, produces a very pleasant umami flavor. This recipe has earned then nickname of "Special Broccoli" in our house, and let me tell you, it is the most delicious broccoli I've ever had.
We make this recipe quite frequently (it was even the side dish to our Christmas dinner, and received rave reviews from my omni in-laws), accompanying many other dishes, but one of our favorites has been stuffed inside of a tofu omelet. I was craving that for dinner and since we had a huge head of broccoli, I knew what I was making. The problem was that I was out of silken tofu, which is what I usually make my omelets with. I had seen chickpea omelets around the interwebs and decided to grab a recipe for some of those babies. I had an idea of who might have a good recipe for one, and I was right. Richa at Hobby and More had the hook up with her Chilla/Puda recipe.
Where have these chickpea omelets been my whole life? If someone had told me, when I was considering veganism (and scared of giving up my egg-based omelets), that there were actually chickpea omelets out there that were easier to make, healthier, and a million-times better tasting than their egg-based counterparts, I would have signed up about a year earlier than I did. It's pretty crazy to think about the excuses one will make to avoid making change in their life, even if that change is better for your health and will allow you to align your actions with your morals. I was hung up on omelets for crying out loud!
Our "Special Broccoli" stuffed inside these beautiful, golden, savory chickpea omelets were such a treat. I can see this becoming a staple as we always have chickpea flour and we almost always have broccoli (a fact I never thought possible prior to finding Kathy's recipe). It was so simple to make, complimented each other beautifully, and was downright delicious!
CHILLA WITH MAPLE-ROASTED CHEEZY BROCCOLI
serves 2-4
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe of Chilla/Puda, making either 2 large omelets, or 4 small
- 1 recipe of Maple-Roasted Cheezy Broccoli
Instructions:
- Fold the omelets in half and stuff the broccoli inside each of the omelets. Enjoy!
Thank you so much, Kathy and Richa!
All Photos taken by Chris Miller
© Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material (content and images) without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kristy Turner and Keepin' It Kind with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Willow
Wow - I'd never seen a chickpea omlet before, but it looks great! I'll have to try that sometime. And those flavors with the broccoli sound incredible!
keepinitkind
Thanks, Willow! All the flavors just melded together beautifully!
Michelle
I've never seen a chickpea omelet....I hated eggs before going Vegan so no sweat giving that up...im gonna have to try it....I really like broccoli so that looks great.....
I do have those same feelings against mushrooms ....yuk and avocado(although I have incorporated those in desserts if I can't taste it) lol
keepinitkind
The chickpea omelet is better that I ever remember egg-based ones being. And if you like broccoli, you will love this! 🙂
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
ooh that looks so delicious! And i bet that broccoli is out-of-this-world! The sweet with the salty -- wow...sounds amazing!! Thanks for a great recipe, Kristy!
keepinitkind
I think you were commenting here at the same time that I was commenting on your blog! That broccoli is delicious- sweet and salty is always a winner! Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Caitlin
i made that recipe from healthy happy life and ate the entire thing in one sitting. it is SO FREAKIN GOOD. as for the chilla, i'm makin it tonight now, that's for sure.
keepinitkind
Isn't it, though?! Every time I make it, without fail, when we finish it, Chris says "What do you mean 'there's no more'?" 🙂 I hope you like the chilla as much as we did!
Richa@HobbyandMore
woah woah.. maple, cheese, broccoli.. and you paired it up with a spicy savory chilla.. that is super cool! broccoli and i have some not so nice conversations too most days. I like it when broccoli plays hide and seek in my dishes.. it works best when its hidden and i cant find it 😉
we have been eating chilla for ages. its just when we went off eggs, tat i thought that it could sub for an omelette(though i dont miss or want eggs at all). esp with some rock salt in it. and if you add a bit of non dairy yogurt, baking powder and veggies, fluff it up, its almost a loaded veggie omelette! i need to redo the chilla post with some omelette variations.. and try to talk with this broccoli face to face.
keepinitkind
Hahaha! "It works best when its hidden and I can't find it." I totally know what you mean! 🙂 I can't wait to make the chilla again, with your loaded omelet suggestion- that's totally up our alley!
Cadry
I can see that you've had a lot of difficult relationships in your past - the broccoli, the grapefruit, your on again/off again dance with the cheese slicer... I'm glad you've found a way to open your heart to broccoli! Now that I see both you and Caitlin raving about this broccoli dish, I've got to make it for myself! Recipes like Richa's puda always makes me wonder if I did the right thing by getting rid of all of my non-stick skillets. I switched over to stainless steel, but there are some things that they just can't do. (I briefly tried cast iron, but I could never get the cleaning/oiling system down.)
I totally know what you mean about being dumbfounded later about our pre-vegan hang-ups. For a long time while I was vegetarian, I didn't go vegan because I thought the process of figuring out what cleaning products to buy and which companies tested on animals sounded way too arduous and complicated. I only wish I could go back and tell myself to just do everything else first! There's plenty of time to learn along the way. Heck, it's still a learning process since some companies that didn't test on animals start testing on them, or some that used to don't anymore. Anyway, your chickpea omelette looks a lot more delicious and doesn't have any of that stinky lingering egg smell!
keepinitkind
Thanks, Cadry! I have had some difficult relationships, but you know, it's all about communication and mutual respect. Once I established those necessary things, we were all good. 😉
Cuisinart makes some "green" non-stick pans, and though we mostly use stainless, I do have one of their "green" double-burner griddle pans and it's awesome for these omelets and pancakes.
I totally feel you on the household products- that was extremely overwhelming to me as well. I bought some Tom's of Maine toothpaste, only to find days later that it is actually owned by Colgate. And then the search for feminine products! Oh my. It is quite a learning process, but so worth the extra work. 🙂
Cadry
Thank you for the recommendation on the Cuisinart pans! I'll look into those. I'd love to have an option for making crepes, dosas, and chilla!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
So glad you have decided to make up with broccoli. Me and him are pretty good friends so it warms my heart to see you two getting along 🙂
In all seriousness, what an awesome pairing! Both those ladies have incredible recipes and you've made such a beautiful match! I love pairing savoury and sweets things together. I have never tried a chickpea omelet despite eyeing Richa's recipe for a while. What am I waiting for? Clearly I'm missing out and need to make this ASAP.
keepinitkind
You are missing out, Gabby! Get on this! ;-P
Really, though, how great are Kathy and Richa? They both have an overflow of wonderful vegan recipes! I am so happy to have found both of them. 🙂
Bex @ Vegan Sparkles
Get OUT!!! I did not KNOW you could make omelettes from chickpeas!! Is there ANYTHING those little guys (and YOU!) can't do?? I am soooo impressed and this broccoli omelette dinner just blows my mind. I can't wait to make it for my vegan pals! I'll send them all over to your blog afterwards. 🙂
Heather
Ig I could I would put pure nh maple syrup on everything!
Isn't Richa amazing - this entire meal look so so good!
Kay
Oh my goodness. I would have never thought of maple and cheeze going together. I'm certainly going to try this when I have all of the ingredients. Chickpea omelets?
keepinitkind
I never would have thought to combine them either, but holy cow! What a combo! And you must try Richa's chilla (or chickpea omelet)- her recipes are fantastic!
CJ at Food Stories
Interesting ... I've got to try this b/c I love umami ... and chickpea omelets ... WOW 🙂
keepinitkind
Awesome! Thanks!
Chris
We are so much alike! I didn't want to give up eggs either!!! and I also hate broccoli! I love this recipe and idea because I am also bored with oatmeal, pancakes, etc., but Vegan Brunch has a chickpea omelet that is kind of a pain in the rear, and yours is so easy! I now know what to do with the huge bag of chickpea flour in my pantry! 😀
keepinitkind
My, oh my, we are alike! I hope you like the omelet as much as we did! 🙂