Maria Elia's Carrrot Pancakes

I discovered Maria Elia many years ago whilst researching Greek dishes and finding fabulous vegetable dishes in her book Smashing Plates.  Her globe artichoke and butter bean houmous/hummus was to die for.  Highly recommended.

This is a must try dish from Maria Elia's cookbook - The Modern Vegetarian.  Find this recipe on the website thisismariaelia.com.      These carrot pancakes are just the best thing for barbeques or as a starter.  The recipe may look complicated with the pancakes, carrot houmous, feta salad and dressing but you can either follow Maria Elia's  recipe to the letter for a great vegetarian dish or simplify (like I did).

So I took the recipe for the carrot pancakes and followed exactly, substituted the carrot houmous for plain chickpea houmous (something I can practically make in my sleep) and topped simply with alfalfa and coriander.

So what do you need for the carrot pancakes; carrots, onion, green chillies, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander ground, chopped coriander, baking powder, chickpea flour, semolina, salt, water and olive oil..... please look up the recipe for exact amounts.

For the houmous/hummus you will need:
3 cloves of garlic chopped
400g of cooked chickpeas (or a can of cooked chickpeas)
2 tbsp tahini
Olive oil to taste
Juice of half a lemon


For the pancakes mix all the ingredients bar the olive oil to form a batter. Heat the olive in a non-stick frying pan and spoon 1/6 to 1/4 of the batter in and fry until golden brown on both sides.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  Leave to cool.

For the hummus place the garlic, chickpeas, tahini, juice of a lemon and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend together. Add more olive oil or cooking liquid if the mixture is too thick.

To serve just take your pancakes and top with the hummus, and a sprinkling of alfafa and coriander.


The Modern Vegetarian is a great book and many of the dishes can be easily adapted to be vegan.... look out for Chilled Tomato, Peach and Ginger Soup, Watermelon Curry with Black Beans and Paneer/Tofu, and Ginger Beer-Battered Stuffed Tofu with Asian Mushy Peas.... Maria Elia is a chef who knows how to treat vegetables and make them the star of the dish. I love the mix of styles from Greek, to Japanese, from the Middle East to Thai inspired dishes.  This is cooking that I love.  High on flavour, high on vegetables, high in satisfaction.