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.

Super simple gluten free flatbread

One morning last week I was cosied up on the sofa with a big mug of spiced apple and camomile tea (I’m really into spiced herbal teas at the moment) and a warm snuggly blanket, whilst flicking through cookbooks for soup inspiration for the coming weeks.

I happened to come across a ridiculously simple recipe for flatbread.  So simply I could barely believe it could actually work and to top it off, it was also gluten free.  I was intrigued and hurried off to make a small batch straight away. The original recipe comes from BBC Good Food: 101 Soups and Sides, I made a few modifications (primarily substituting the natural yoghurt in the recipe for soy yoghurt so that it is vegan- but feel free to use natural yoghurt if that’s more your thing).

I am not very experienced with typical GF breads, so it is difficult to compare, but for me I would not have questioned this bread as being anything other than made with regular ingredients. I'd be interested to hear from others who have more experience in this area if you do try this recipe out! I have since made another batch to go with my spicy lentil and chickpea soup that i'll be posting shortly, this time I used wholemeal spelt flour to get a comparison. The spelt made for a slightly lighter, fluffier bread, but im not sure if that was in part due to the ratio of baking powder used since the GF flour in the original recipe was self-raising so I did not add baking powder separately.

The original recipe states that the bread should be served straight away whilst still warm.  I would emphasize that this is important since the GF bread did become tougher after a few hours once cooled and less fresh, though you could by all means freshen up in the oven. Since the flatbread is so simple to make- 15 minutes tops, there is no reason why you wouldn’t make these fresh whilst you are preparing the rest of the meal. 

When freshly grilled, the flatbread has a lovely crisp outer crust and a soft and quite dense inside…perfect for ripping and dipping into a hearty warming soup. Also, feel free to jazz up the seasonings however you wish.

The flatbreads would also make a great base for mini grilled toasties, hummous or nut butter open sandwich creations. 

Recipe: Gluten free flatbread

Ingredients

200g gluten free self-raising flour mix (I used Doves Farm mix which contains rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flours)*

1-2  tsp toasted cumin seeds

150g soy yoghurt (or natural yoghurt)

50ml water

½ tsp salt to taste

1 tbs nutritional yeast (optional- I added this but it was not in the original recipe)

* you could alternatively substitute the GF flour for spelt flour plus 3tsp baking powder.

Makes 4 small saucer sized flatbreads

Method

Heat the grill to medium and dust a baking sheet with a little flour. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan for a minute or so to release a better aroma. Mix the flour, cumin seeds and salt in a bowl then add the yoghurt and water and stir through, using your hands at the end as necessary. This should result in a lovely soft dough.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and form circular patties with your hands approx. 5mm thick. Dust lightly with a little more flour if they are quite sticky to touch. Lay on the floured baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

Grill for approx. 3-5 minutes on each side (depending on the strength of your grill) until lightly golden and puffed up.

Note: for a future batch, once laid on the baking sheet I may brush the top surface with a little soy milk before sprinkling with salt and pepper to achieve more of a golden glazed finish. This hasn’t yet been tested so feel free to experiment.

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.

‘Leftover’ pasties

Boxing Day was a pretty quiet and relaxed day. These are the two days of the year when I can actually enjoy just lounging around…any other time I would get fidgety and feel the need to be doing something more!

In the morning we went for a walk through the park and the fields for a bit of fresh air, where myself and my brother and sister decided to take to the swings… if you can’t be a kid at Christmas… then when can you?  

 

The weather was actually quiet warm and sunny, very unusal for this time of year, so it felt a bit 

overkill to be dressed up in scarf and hat (the hat soon came off)!

Once back home I made lunch for everyone….my ‘leftovers’ pasties. 

The recipe is so quick and simple and was briefly mentioned here, but I’ll reiterate it again for quick reference. I just love the simplicity of the recipe and the fact that it could be so easily adapted for any ‘leftover roast’ combo. I haven’t included meat here, but obviously this could be included also if you wished. My family added some of the meat into their pasties.

Recipe: ‘leftover’ pasties

Makes 6-10 pasties depending on size

Ingredients:

(these measurements are all approximates and easily interchangeable for other similar ingredients)

1 ½ cup mixed veggies (I used brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots and mashed potato)

½  cup nut roast or stuffing

A few tablespoons of sauce (cranberry sauce, bread sauce, gravy etc)

Approx. 1 tsp mixed herb seasoning (optional)

Approx. 30x50cm rolled ready-made or homemade shortcrust pastry (I cheated this time and used ready-made!)

Method:

Cut out approx. 6 large saucer sized rolled ready-made or homemade shortcrust pastry (shop bought shortcrust pastry in the UK is usually vegan anyway but check the label). Or you could cut smaller circles and make mini pasties.

In a medium bowl add all ingredients and mush together a little so well mixed. Spoon approx. ¼ cup of the mixture in to the centre of each pastry round leaving at least 2cm of pastry round the edge. Wet the edges a little and lift up and seal the edges together making a semi-circle with the seam at the top. Crimp the seam with your fingers.

Place the pasties on a greased or lined baking sheet, brush with soy milk and bake at 180C for approx. 25 mins until golden. Serve warm or cold.

Note: the dollop of filling I have shown there is too much in relation to the circle size- after this photo was take I had to reduce it a little to be able to seal the egdes!

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.

Buffet Bites and the ‘Egg’ nog experiment

Well, these last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirl-wind.

Cake still adorns all surfaces- waiting to be eaten, unwrapped presents lounge in boxes and bags, post-it notes and ‘to do’ lists remain half ticked off….

…..but this evening I relaxed! Work in the office is over for the rest of the year and now I can look forward to the holiday season with increasing excitement and last minute preparations!

Actually I have been getting quite excited this year, since the festive recipes have swung me into the holiday spirit, but some years Christmas is literally knocking at my door before I realise that time has come around.  That’s the problem with being ‘too busy’… if you’re not careful it’s easy to miss all the fun, particularly all the build-up and anticipation which is often just as much fun as the big day itself.

Sometimes you just need to take a little time out. Take a step back and spend just 5 minutes looking around you. Smile from within. Calm.

I’m always busy, always rushing and always have another plan up my sleeve. It’s the way I love to be, but I also know I can be my own worst enemy when things don’t go to plan. I am not very good at creating some flexibility and allowance for if things take a ‘slightly different turn’ from how you anticipated. It is very easy to blame others or to blame the situation, which only serves to leave you frustrated, when in actual fact you simply need to build in a little contingency plan. That way you can’t lose…and if it does all go to plan- bonus!

This statement is definitely a case of ‘do what I say and not what I do’. I really need to learn to listen to my own advice. It’s crazy that I can see this so clearly sitting here on the sofa, as I type with a clear and peaceful mind, the house is quiet and it’s almost time for bed. Why is it that in the flow of day to day chaos my mind seems set in a permanent state of ‘fast-forward’. Stop…rewind…so what was it I said?

Sometimes you just need to take a little time out. Take a step back and spend just 5 minutes looking around you. Smile from within. Calm.

Ok, ok I’m listening. Practice makes perfect. Hopefully one day I’ll master the balancing act.

But now for food, since that’s probably what you came here for? Although you may find my questioning mind creeping in a little more! Sometimes simply writing it down helps.

I’m all caked out.

So this is a savoury post…a round up if you like of savoury nibbles or buffet bites (as it sounds cute).

These healthy nibbles should help see you through the holidays and beyond. I have here a combination of my previous posts, plus the outcome of my ‘egg’ nog investigation and experiments that some of you will be aware of from my facebook page- we simply cannot get soy-nog in the UK!

Some savoury nibbles to get the party going….

Speedy seedy crackers 
Great for dipping, also great cut into strips as a healthy alternative to cheese straws!

Coconut cashews

Er, no explanation needed!

‘Meat’ balls
Serve these instead of scotch eggs or sausage rolls, satisfying finger food!

Plus I came across a great idea for using up Christmas Day ‘leftovers’….. Pasties!

I will try and post this recipe and my results on boxing day as I plan to make the pasties, but in essence the method is simple….

Use four smallish plate sized rounds of rolled ready-made or homemade shortcrust pastry (it’s usually vegan anyway but check the label). Add a mug of veggies and up to a mug of nut roast/stuffing all crumbled up together. Add a few dollops of sauce (whatever type you had with the meal- cranberry, bread sauce, gravy). Lastly add a few pinches of herbs. Spoon ¼ of the mixture in to the centre of each pastry round leaving 2-3cm of pastry round the edge. Lift up and seal the edges together making a semi-circle with the seam at the top. Place on a baking sheet, brush with soy milk and bake at 180C for approx. 40 mins until golden. Serve warm or cold.

So simple… I’ll try and post pictures on boxing day.

Now, for my ‘egg’ nog experiment 

(Gosh this has ended up being a long post- hope you're still with me!)

I checked out various recipes and they were all so diverse!! Some used tofu, some used nut butter, and some used banana.  There seemed to be various options to obtain the desired thickness.  I wanted to create a nog not using tofu, no real reason for that other than I fancied the challenge. A banana and nut butter combo inspired me as I didn’t want there to be an over-dominant banana-ry taste. I also used a thickener to ensure light and delicate flavours but it may also work by doubling the amount of banana and nut butter and omitting the thickening stage- note this has not been tested!

The result….? A  thick milkshakey frothy drink that is creamy and lightly spiced. It tasted good to me but then I have never had real or soy egg nog before….maybe you can be the judge?

Recipe: Christmas Nog

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cashew or almond butter

½ a large banana- chopped (I used a frozen one but fresh should be fine also)

4 dates

2 cups ‘milk’ (I used a combination of 1 1/3 cups rice milk and ½ cup soy milk)

2 tsp thickener (I used cornstarch but arrowroot/tapioca should also work)

1 tbs ground flax

1 tbs maple syrup

Spices- 1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp cinnamon

Makes approx. 2 large glasses

Method:

Mix thickener with approx. 2 tbs of water for form a paste. Pour the ‘milk’ with the thickener paste added into a small saucepan and also add the dates. Simmer until it boils and thickens and the dates begin to soften. (note: it should be at least half as thick as the nog will end up). Add the ‘milk’ mixture to a blender along with all the remaining ingredients. Blend until totally smooth and creamy and frothy on top.

Chill until cold and then pour into glasses to serve. Sprinkle some extra grated nutmeg to the frothy top if desired.

Cheers!!

 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.