There is something rather thrilling about making pancakes. There is the risk of them going wrong, the challenge of tossing them and decision of what to fill them with. And then the simple pleasure of eating them. These pancakes behaved themselves very nicely. They stayed whole, were easy to flip over and tasted and looked wonderful. Buckwheat is a great flour to use in pancakes either neat or half and half with wheat flour.
The idea for the combination of buckwheat and spinach came from Green Kitchen Stories and was crossed with a recipe I remembered more or less from Yotam Ottolengi for the tahini cream dressing.
The topping was serendipity - I had just cooked up a huge pan of chickpeas and had some left over roasted peppers - and so the idea for the topping was born. It was fabulous mix of ingredients.
It did strike me that if you want to add some meat a little chorizo cooked with the onions would be a great addition.
Buckwheat and spinach pancakes with roasted pepper, chickpea and tahini yogurt cream
Serves 4
Pancake batter
- 150g buckwheat flour
- 2 large eggs
- 330 ml plant milk, almond, oat or cows' if you prefer
- 150 ml water
- 1 tsp melted coconut oil or butter
- a pinch of sea salt
- 2 handfuls fresh spinach, rinsed (or thawed frozen)
- 10 leaves fresh basil (optional)
- tbsp chopped chives
- olive oil for shallow frying
- sea salt and pepper
- a little grated nutmeg
Topping
- 3 red peppers
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- olive oil for shallow frying
- 200g canned chickpeas, drained
- pinch of dried chilli (optional)
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander
- sea salt and pepper
Tahini cream
- 250g Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp tahini
- juice of a lemon
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- sea salt and pepper
Method
Place all the ingredients for the pancake batter in a large jug or bowl and mix together with an immersion blender. Place the batter in the fridge while you prepare the topping.
Hold the red peppers directly on the flame of a gas hob or on a grill and cook until the skin is scorched and black. Allow the peppers to cool before removing the blistered, black skin and the seeds. Cut the cooked pepper into strips and do not be too fastidious about removing all the burnt skin from the peppers as a little adds a smoky flavour to the topping.
Cook the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until just beginning to soften and turn golden brown. Add the chickpeas, roasted red peppers, dried chilli if using and chopped coriander. Season well and keep warm while you cook the pancakes.
Prepare the tahini cream by mixing all the ingredients together well. If the tahini is a little stiff I whiz the ingredients together in a food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice as required.
To cook the pancakes.
Heat an 8 inch / 20 cm frying pan on medium heat. Add a little olive oil to the pan and when it is hot ladle about 100 ml of batter into the pan. Tilt the pan and swirl around until the batter is evenly distributed. Fry for about 2 minute on each side, until the pancakes are golden and can be turned over easily. Cook all of the pancakes and place on a baking tray in a warm oven until ready to assemble into the finished dish.
To assemble the pancakes.
Place 2 or three spoonfuls of the red pepper topping in the centre of each pancake and spread around with a spoon. Place a dollop of tahini cream in the centre of the pancake and sprinkle with a little more coriander or finely diced chilli before serving
