On the last Tuesday of February we celebrate all things pancakes here in Ireland- although pancakes are an all-year-round staple in our house. In the Netherlands there are many Pancake House-type restaurants "Pannekoeken Huis" which often serve the pancake flat with either toppings cooked into the batter like apple, cheese or bacon, or generously served on top for a meal in itself. I love pancakes for their versatility and as a delicious and satisfying option at any time of the day.
I think because pancakes are so versatile we can pretty much use any ingredients to make them! Some kind of carbohydrate or flour base and something to bind the batter. As much as I love plain flour pancakes with a dusting of icing sugar or maple syrup, for a more sustaining meal or snack (particularly breakfast) I know I need a good portion of protein and fibre on my plate to keep my neurotransmitters firing! I can feel super tired and sleepy otherwise- and with a flat concentration, that's no fun for anyone. And so the quest for a satisfying pancake recipe began that didn't taste of cardboard, was easy to make with ingredients at hand and that everybody would enjoy- even my teens!
Anybody who knows me will know I love buckwheat, which I use in a lot of my recipes. High in fibre, good source of magnesium and protein, buckwheat is my go-to in baking. However if its not your preferred choice of flour you can use any plain flour you like, wheat, rice or spelt. The addition of pumpkin seeds gives these pancakes a delicious texture and nutty flavour with a boost of zinc, plus the oats- well, who doesn't like hearty and satisfying oats!
You will need a blender for this recipe or nutribullet-type equipment to blitz the pumpkin seeds and oats into flour consistency. Omitting the vanilla extract will offer you a pancake to enjoy with savoury toppings such as wilted spinach, cheese or even humous and roast veggies- the sky is the limit!
So if you fancy trying something different this coming pancake Tuesday (or any day lets be honest!) and want to have something satisfying, sustaining and tasty- give these pancakes a flip :-)
Ingredients:
Makes about 8 pancakes
1/2 cup of buckwheat groats (I blitz these into flour in 3 secs flat- you can also buy buckwheat as flour)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (you can also blitz these in a nutribullet)
1/2 cup oats
2 eggs
1 cup of preferred milk (I use oat milk)
1/2 cup water
1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Method:
Simply blitz all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until you get a completely smooth batter. Alternatively you can blitz the dry ingredients into a flour and then add the liquid ingredients by hand to whisk. Ideally leave the batter for 30minutes as the buckwheat tends to absorb a lot of liquid and you may need to adjust the consistency with some more water or milk. I often make this batter the night before, ready to use for the morning.
Now all you do is simply get your frying pan super hot, melt a small knob of butter or preferred fat such as rape-seed/coconut oil/ghee and gently pour in the batter to completely but thinly cover the bottom of the pan. Leave to cook until the top is completely dry before flipping over to cook the other side. Continue to cook all the batter and either eat straight away or keep some for another time in the fridge. These pancakes also freeze really well.
Happy pancake eating xx
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