By Hannah Powling
Are you on a health kick but want to join in on the Pancake Day festivities? No worries, there is always a way.
To be fair Shrove Tuesday is located in the tricky part of the calendar – so for those of you who have managed to stick to your New Year’s resolutions to eat better, today can be quite the test.
But there’s no reason to miss out, here we have some alternative savoury recipes for you to try out for yourself perhaps for dinner tonight (for a little change from the usual sugar lemon crepes year after year) – to enjoy pancakes in an unusual, and extremely healthy way…
Cue the savoury pancakes:
Green Pancakes Stuffed with Mushroom and Kale
“Having a green filling breakfast like this will set you up for the day packed full of alkalising greens and protein packed mushrooms. Oh and its perfect for pancake day!”
Ingredients:
25g teff flour
25g gluten free flour
1 egg
130g rice milk or almond
50g baby spinach
Pinch Himalayan salt
1 tsp sunflower oil
Filling:
100g mushrooms
½ sliced red onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp sunflower oil
Pinch Himalayan salt
6 tbsp water
60g kale
6 tbsp water
½ lime
Garnish:
10g coriander
6 tbsp goats yoghurt, coconut yoghurt or sheeps yoghurt.
Method
To make the kefir yoghurt. Weigh out the sheeps yoghurt and stir in the packet of cultures into 2 tbsp of the yoghurt then add the rest and stir for 10 minutes until dissolved. Put into a warm place for 24 hours. Then put into the fridge it will last for 4-5 days.
For the pancake:
1. Pour boiling water over the spinach so it wilts and squeeze any excess water out.
2. Blend together the spinach and rice milk until smooth.
3. Whisk in the egg and sunflower oil into the spinach mixture.
4. Weigh and mix the dried ingredients into a bowl.
5. Slowly stir in the dried ingredients into the wet mixture.
6. Heat a pan with 1 tsp of sunflower oil and pour half the mixture in to the pan evenly. Leave to cook for 1-2 minutes until its golden brown then flip over and cook on the other side till golden brown and take off the heat. Repeat for another pancake.
For the filling:
1. Thinly slice the onion and sautee in the pan with slices of garlic in the sunflower oil for 1 minute until soft.
2. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute and add 6tbsp water and leave for another minute.
3. Push the mushrooms to one side of the pan and add the kale, lime juice and rest of the water and leave to wilt in the steam. Take off the heat.
4. To serve open the pancake and put the kale, mushrooms on one side and 3 tbsp of yoghurt over the top and chopped coriander. Fold the pancake over the filling.
Spinach and Chia Pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup spinach, finely chopped
1/4 cup chia seeds
4 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Butter/coconut oil for frying
Method
1. Whisk the eggs until frothy, then add the coconut milk and mix well.
2. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth.
3. Add the spinach and blend well.
4. Heat a frying pan with the butter/oil and spoon a few tablespoons of batter into the pan.
5. Cook on each side until golden brown. When bubbles are coming through the batter, that’s the time to flip them over.
6. Eat and enjoy!
Gluten-free Chickpea pancakes with spicy roasted carrots, sweet potatoes & feta
Ingredients
For the pancakes
2 cups chickpea flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp nut butter
3 tbsp olive oil
For the topping
6 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp chipotle chili powder
¼ tsp cumin
salt, to taste
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Method
1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the carrot and sweet potato cubes with the olive oil, smoked paprika, cinnamon, chili powder, and cumin. Spread over a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until tender.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, buttermilk, baking powder, salt, nut butter and olive oil. Let sit for 10 minutes.
4. Spread a layer of butter on a nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat. Pour a scant ¼ cup of pancake batter into the skillet for each pancake, making sure not to crowd the pan. Cook until small bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes and the edges start to be golden brown. Flip and cook for another few minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.
5. Serve pancakes topped with the roasted veggies and a sprinkling of feta.
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