PANCAKES

Who doesn't love pancakes for breakfast?

Traditional pancakes made with white (bleached flour) and eggs (not easily digested) were a firm favourite when I was young, served simply with lemon juice and sugar (I know - if only I knew back then!). There are now many alternative recipes for pancakes but for me the fun is changing the flavour profile and texture.

Below is my standard recipe for pancakes which I generally add a grated vegetable to - think carrot or courgette as these don't tend to have an overbearing flavour. The pancake batter is made with oats and a wholemeal flour - spelt, wheat and buckwheat, sometimes gram flour for savoury recipes. This approach provides a great batter to play with plus no digestive discomfort or aggravators.

The key here is to experiment and have fun!

Batter ingredients

  • 40g organic oats

  • 20g organic flour (wholewheat, spelt, buckwheat)

  • pinch of mineral salt

  • 1 tbsp olive oil or ghee

  • around 80ml water

Method

Mix all of the dry ingredients including spices and chopped nuts in a bowl. Grate in any vegetables or puree if using. Add the oil or ghee. Combine.

Add just under 80ml of water before blending, adding more if needed. I prefer a fairly thick batter but you can experiment for yourself. I use a nutribullet blender but any blender will work.

Once combined heat a little olive oil in a frying pan before pouring or spooning in the batter, I make 3 pancakes with this amount of batter.

Heat the pancakes on a medium heat until set before flipping over. This take around 5 - 6 minutes total.

Toppings

I like to add maple syrup, grated nuts or some cream cheese to my pancakes depending of the batter flavour. Below are some ideas to try but the best bit is experimenting yourself.

Inspiration

Carrot cake pancakes. Spices = ground cinnamon, ground coriander, nutmeg, fresh grated ginger. Add grated carrot to the batter. Top with cream cheese and grated walnut

Cardamom & rose pancakes. Spices = ground cardamom, ground coriander, plus rose water. Add grated courgette to the batter.Top with rose water cream cheese, rose petals and grated pistachio.

Pumpkin pancakes. Spices = ground cinnamon, ground coriander, clove powder, nutmeg. Add grated pumpkin or puree to the batter. Top with maple syrup and grated pecan.

Coffee & walnut cake pancakes. Spices = 'No Caf' coffee replacement powder, carob powder, ground coriander. Add grated courgette & walnuts to the batter. Top with grated walnut & maple syrup.

Turkish delight pancakes. Spices = carob powder, ground coriander, rose water. Top with rose petals and cream cheese (try adding carob powder and/or rose water to the cream cheese)

Carrot cake pancakes

Turkish delight pancakes

Cardamom & rose pancakes

'Coffee' & walnut pancakes

Pumpkin pancakes

TIPS

  • adding ground coriander aids digestion without having an overpowering taste

  • adding cardamom will help to digest dairy if using a cream cheese topping

  • add less water to begin with, you can always add more if needed

  • let the batter rest for 10 -15 minutes if time allows

  • cook on a medium heat to ensure the pancakes cook through