Spicy Sweet Potato: Curried Chickpea & Eggplant Flatbread

Curried Chickpea & Eggplant Flatbread is a delightful Indian inspired recipe of homemade gluten free flatbread topped with a roasted eggplant sauce, and a few tasty toppings . For the easy homemade flatbread, I used a slight variation of my Thin Crust Pizza recipe, to make a flatbread from crushed rice cereal and oats that’s ready in minutes. To make the sauce, a combination of eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and spices are roasted until caramelized, then pureed in a delectable sauce. Finally, curry spiced chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, and fresh parsley are layered on top of the eggplant sauce to provide the finishing touch to a fantastic flatbread dish.

Curried Chickpea & Eggplant Flatbread
Gluten Free
Serves One
Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Roasted Eggplant Sauce:
1/4 of a medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into thin half moons
1/4 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 of a green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
2-3 sundried tomatoes halves, not packed in oil ( like the kind by L'Espirit )
1/4 cup water
Rice Flatbread:
1/2 cup gluten free puffed rice cereal (I used Arrowhead Mills )**
2 tablespoons gluten free oats (I used GF Harvest Oats )
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon parsley
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute
2 tablespoons water
Toppings and Garnishes:
2 tablespoons canned chickpeas, drained
1/4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt

To Prepare the Eggplant Sauce:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with olive oil spray.
2. Add eggplant, tomatoes and peppers to prepared baking sheet. Season vegetables with cumin, coriander, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spritz with olive oil spray, then stir to coat vegetables in seasonings.

3. Roast vegetables for 15 minutes, then gently stir. Continue to roast for 10-15 minutes more or until tomatoes begin to burst, and eggplant/peppers begin to caramelize.

4. While the vegetables are roasting, place sundried tomatoes in a small microwave safe dish with 1/4 cup water. Cover dish, and microwave, in 20 second intervals, for about 1 minute or until tomatoes are tender. Let tomatoes soak in water until vegetables are finished.

5. Transfer roasted vegetables to a small mixing bowl. Remove sundried tomatoes from liquid (reserving liquid), chop tomatoes, and set aside to be used as a topping. Add about half of the sundried tomato liquid to bowl with roasted vegetables. Use an immersion blender to puree mixture until all ingredients are combine and a smooth sauce is formed. Add additional sundried tomato liquid, if necessary, to thin out the sauce. You want it be about the consistency of a thick marinara sauce, thin enough to spread on the flatbread but thick enough so that it won’t run off the edges. Set aside sauce while you make the flatbread.

To Prepare the Flatbread:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Tear off a square of aluminum foil about 10x10 inches in size and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. Place rice cereal, oats, curry powder, paprika, parsley, salt and pepper in the bowl of a small food processor or blender (you can try to use a regular food processor, but it might not be a large enough amount to reach blades). Pulse mixture until it is finely ground and the consistency of breadcrumbs.

3. Pour crumb mixture into a small mixing bowl. Add in egg substitute and water; stir until well combined.

4. Spray an 8 inch skillet with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat.
5. Pour batter into center of pan, then tilt skillet back and forth so that batter evenly coats the bottom.

6. Cook flatbread 6-8 minutes, or until golden on the bottom, and a small rubber spatula can be used to lift edges without it crumbling. Use a wide spatula to flip flatbread then continue to cook until browned on both sides, 3-4 minutes more.

7. Use your spatula to gently transfer flatbread to prepared square of aluminum foil.

Preparing the Toppings:

1. Add chickpeas to a small dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with paprika, garam masala, and salt. Stir to coat chickpeas in spices

Assembling & Baking the Flatbread:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spread the eggplant sauce onto flatbread crust, then top with spiced chickpeas. Sprinkle flatbread with sundried tomatoes, then carefully place foil square directly on oven rack.

3. Bake flatbread for 10-12 minutes or until toppings are heated through, and edges are beginning to crisp. Remove from oven and garnish with fresh parsley.