Stuffed pancake stack!

With Pancake Day just around the corner next Tuesday, I wanted to bring you a pancake recipe ahead of time. See, I am actually getting organised this year!!  (I also have an amazing Valentines themed post lined up for Saturday...so keep your eyes peeled!)

Most people usually think of sweet filled pancakes and I am no exception, however this time I wanted to put a twist on things and create a simple savoury recipe. The concept is based on a savoury version of these fruity oatmeal blinis and I remember thinking to myself at the time that they would work perfectly as a base for a savoury filling...so here we are.

To speed things up even more you could make the blinis ahead of time and freeze them if not using the same day. Simply defrost and reheat in the oven for a few minutes. (It tried this and it works well). The instructions below may seem lengthy but I promise you won't spend more than 10-15 mins tops from start to finish.

The filing is my current favourite dip/spread, which will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days but it's best served fresh when possible. I served it warm this time round...yum! You may remember the dip was first seen here adorning my Christmas trees! Add a few extra roasted veggies or salad leaves as per your preference to create a pretty plate. 

Just remember to stack ‘em high!

Recipe: Stuffed pancake stack

Serves 2 (8 blinis plus filling­)

Ingredients

Oatmeal blinis:

100g ground oats

¼ tsp bicarbonate soda

150ml soy milk (or other dairy free milk)

1tsp ground chia or flax

Approx. ½ tsp seasoning as desired

Approx. 50ml water to thin batter as needed

Green pea and bean dip:

1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
1/2 cup cooked white beans (canned or pre-cooked)
1 garlic clove- crushed
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 shallot (or 1/4 white onion)
1 tbs fresh herbs (I used parsley)
salt and pepper to taste

Handful of rocket or spinach

Sliced roasted or sun dried tomatoes

Sliced roasted or caramelised onions

Method

Prepare the onions and tomatoes as desired- I roasted mine for 5 minutes or so whilst I prepared the blinis.

To make the pea filling, add all ingredients to a blender and whizz together until desired texture is reached (I left mine a little chunky). To serve hot, you can either heat the beans and peas prior to blending or heat the blended product in the microwave for a couple of minutes (I did it that way as I also had a bit left over that I wanted to chill in the fridge without heating.)

Meanwhile, to prepare the blinis, blend together all ingredients (other than water) until very smooth. Add as much water as necessary to create a thick but easily pourable batter.

Spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto a hot frying pan and fry for a minute or so on each side until golden.

Serve the blinis immediately layered up with the pea filling and onions, leaves and tomatoes. Make a big stack!

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Buckwheat blini breakfast kebabs

I had originally planned this post for yesterday...but I figured since many of you will be celebrating Thanksgiving, will anyone actually be reading blogs....really? Other than maybe people like me who don't celebrate Thanksgiving in their country. So I decided that I'd postpone it a day... I didn't want anyone missing out! This would make a fab lazy day post Thanksgiving brunch.

This idea came to me at 2am last Saturday morning....just when I should be sleeping NOT thinking about breakfast!

I've got into a bad habit of sitting in bed on my laptop before going to sleep and getting so engrossed in things that I don’t realise the time has crept across to the early hours… and then I can’t switch off when I do lay down to sleep.

However I didn't really mind this particular moment of creativity, and I simply tucked the idea away in my mind until morning.

Welcome to the most amazing brunch ever!

Simple, healthy, versatile, gluten free….the list goes on!

Ok, I’ll cut to the chase. These mini buckwheat blinis were inspired by this post in which the concept of the oat blinis worked really well, however not wanting to simply replicate with buckwheat I made miniature versions using a melon baller as a batter scoop (this worked perfectly- I really recommend this for getting evenly sized blinis) and then threading them onto skewers between chunks of fruit.

You could use any fruit you wish as long as it can be threaded onto skewers. It would be fabulous with banana and strawberries but alas it is not the season for strawberries. I was a little lacking on the fruit front and so used banana and some tinned apricots….had I planned ahead I would have used grapes, chopped mango along with banana…but I  was too impatient to try out my idea before I could get to the shops to replenish my frit supplies!

The blinis are only slightly sweet in themselves so I drizzled them with a (generous) helping of maple syrup and a dollop of vegan yoghurt. You could increase the sweetness of the batter itself if you desired, although I always prefer pancakes to be plain and then sweeten with toppings.

Go on…have a little fun today and play with your food!

Recipe: Buckwheat blini breakfast kebabs

Approx. 8 kebabs (serves 2-4)

100g buckwheat flour

Scant ½ tsp bicarbonate soda

150ml soy milk (or other dairy free milk)

1tsp ground chia or flax

3 tbs agave syrup

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

extra water to thin batter as needed

Approx. 2 cups fruit chunks of choice.

Maple syrup to serve

Method

Blend together all ingredients (other than water) until very smooth. Add as much water as necessary to create a thick but easily pourable batter.

Prepare fruit for kebabs- you can use any fruit that can be skewered. I used banana and apricot halves. Set aside.

Using a melon baller (most practical method) spoon small dollops of the pancake mixture onto a hot lightly oiled frying pan and fry for approx. 30 seconds or so on each side until golden.

When all the blinis are cooked thread them onto skewers alternating with chunks of fruit. Drizzle with maple syrup to serve.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

DAY SIXTEEN: Oatmeal blinis

I’ve long wanted to have a go at making buckwheat blinis, they look so simple and seem so versatile, but the inclusion of egg in nearly every recipe shied me away However the recipe was again recently brought to my attention and this time instead of shy away I wanted to take up the challenge…BUT…since this is Vegan MOFO and my theme is oats it seems only fitting that I turn them into oat blinis.

These little blinis turned out a treat, so I will having a go at the traditional buckwheat version soon for sure.

What I like most about this recipe is the versatility…sweet or savoury…you choose. Well you probably already guessed that I’d make this a little fruity brunch treat (I was actually last weekend that I made these) so I added a touch of sweetness to the batter, you could just as easily add a few savoury spices instead.

I served mine with a good drizzle of maple syrup and banana plus a few raspberries that I picked from the garden. Yum!

This this recipe makes about 12 and I only wanted a few for my brunch so I am planning on freezing the remainder as I hear that buckwheat blinis freeze very well so I hoping these will too…I will report back!

Recipe: Oatmeal blinis

Makes approx. 12 blinis

Ingredients

200g ground oats

½ tsp bicarbonate soda

300ml soy milk (or other dairy free milk)

1tsp ground chia or flax

1 tbs agave syrup (optional)

½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

Approx. 100ml water to thin batter as needed

Method

Blend together all ingredients (other than water) until very smooth. Add as much water as necessary to create a thick but easily pourable batter.

Spoon heaped tablespoon of mixture onto a hot frying pan and fry for a minite or so on each side until golden.

Serve hot or cold. I ate mine hot.

What Vegan MOFO means to me.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.