Combine the chickpea flour, water, 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl and whisk well. Let sit to hydrate while you prepare the salad, the longer you let it sit the better to allow the flour to hydrate. Give it a good final whisking just before baking to remove all the lumps.
Put the diced sweet potatoes on to boil until tender. If baking the chickpea pancakes, preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F) and place your pans or baking dish inside to heat up (I divided mine between 4 -15 cm / 6 inch pans but you can also make one big one. See the text above for different ways to cook the pancakes).
In a small food processor, blend the basil, orange juice, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, garlic and vinegar until smooth.
Toss together the lentils, cooked sweet potato, red onion, pomegranate seeds, arugula and pear and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.
To bake the chickpea pancakes, carefully remove your pans or baking dish from the oven and add a generous glug of olive oil. Tilt the pans to cover the entire surface and pour in the pancake batter. Bake in the centre of the oven for 5 – 7 minutes, or until the top sets, then move the pans to the upper-most rack under the broiler for 3 – 4 more minutes to brown on top. Watch them carefully, they can burn!
Let the pancakes cool slightly before removing them from the pans. They can stick a bit so use a spatula. Serve the pancakes either on the side with the salad or on 4 plates with the lentil salad piled on top. Drizzle over the orange-basil dressing.