The 17th of February, is Shrove Tuesday. Before you abscond your guilty pleasures, your sweet treats and your vices for lent, today is the day to spread them all on a pancake and chow down- though, you might be surprised to know that these pancakes, as indulgent as they look AND taste, are good for you!
Recipe |Makes 8 little pancakes
A good handful of pecan nuts (about 50g), roughly chopped
100g oats or oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of sea salt
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
150ml coconut milk or almond milk
A 200g punnet of blueberries
To serve
2 bananas, peeled and cut into thin slices
A little coconut oil or butter
A few pecan nuts, crumbled
Lime wedges
Honey or agave syrup
Method
First turn the oven to 120ºC/fan 100ºC/gas 1/2 to keep everything warm.
Blitz the oats until you have a scruffy oat flour. Add to the bowl with the pecans and throw in the baking powder and salt.
Mix the mashed banana with the milk (you can do this by blitzing them in the food processor too, if you like). Beat the banana mixture into the flour and leave the batter to sit for a few minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat, then add the banana slices and fry on both sides in the dry pan until brown and caramelized. Keep warm in the oven.
Put the pan back on a medium heat and add a little coconut oil or butter. Drop in a healthy tablespoon of batter for each pancake. Once the sides are cooked and bubbles have risen to the top, scatter over a handful of blueberries and flip the pancake over. Cook for another couple of minutes on the other side. The pancakes will stay a little moist in the middle because of the banana, so don’t worry. Keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
Serve the pancakes piled with the banana slices. Add some crumbled pecans and a squeeze of lime, and, if you like, a little touch of honey or agave syrup.
A scoop of coconut ice cream turns these into a feel-good pudding too.