My focus is on Valentine’s Day this week, so in terms of Primal Plate’s blog I don’t have a lot of time to rabbit-on about pancakes. However, in honour of Shrove Tuesday I have re-visited last year’s Primal Pancakes and made a few adjustments to the recipe. Namely, I’ve reduced the amount of carbs by decreasing the amount of arrowroot flour and improved my pancakes ‘flip-ability’ (is that even a word?) by increasing the amount of fat. Sometimes I think being a food blogger has an air of mad-food-scientology about it!
Anyway, it all works. So if you’re trying to lose weight, want to eat low-carb, follow a Primal or vegetarian, gluten-free, grain-free diet, these delicious, savoury pancakes are a ‘flipping-good’ alternative to traditional wheat-based ones!
Savoury Primal Pancakes with Tomato, Cheese & Mushrooms (makes 10)
Ingredients - for the pancakes
50g organic butter (or coconut oil)
300 ml raw whole milk or homemade organic almond milk or 50/50 filtered water & milk
4 large organic eggs
75g organic ground almonds
40g Sukrin organic reduced-fat coconut flour
15g organic arrowroot flour
½ tsp organic apple cider vinegar
½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
Extra coconut oil, for cooking
Ingredients - for the pancake filling and topping
1 tbsp olive oil
230g organic button mushrooms, wiped and finely sliced
1 x 400g tin organic chopped tomatoes ( I used Mr Organic)
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
1-2 drops organic liquid stevia
250g full-fat natural cottage cheese (I used Longley Farm)
75g vegetarian parmesan-style cheese, finely grated (I used Gran Moravia)
Fresh basil sprigs - for serving
Instructions - to make the pancakes
Put the butter (or coconut oil) in a small saucepan and set over a very low heat until just melted.
Then, place all the ingredients for the batter into a blender and blend thoroughly until it is smooth and the consistency of pouring cream.
Heat a 20cm (8 inch) non-stick pancake pan over a medium heat until it is hot.
Add a smidgeon of coconut oil to the pan, then quickly ladle - or pour - just enough of the batter into the pan to coat the base thinly (¼ US Cup - about 60 -70ml should do it). Ideally, you’d be blessed by being naturally ambidextrous at this point - swiftly pouring the batter into the frying pan with one hand whilst simultaneously tilting and turning the pan to ensure it levels out evenly with the other. N.B. the pancakes should be as thin as possible.
Fry over a medium heat for about 2 minutes without moving. Then, using a flat-bladed non-stick spatula, flip the pancake over and cook for a further 1 minute.
Slide each pancake onto a large flat plate and repeat this process until all the batter has been used to make 10 pancakes.
Instructions - to make the filling
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms until tender
Add the tomatoes and basil, stir well and continue to cook uncovered on a low heat until the mixture has reduced down to a thick puree.
Take the pan off the heat and season the mixture to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper - adding 1-2 drop of liquid stevia if the tomatoes taste too acidic.
Add the cottage cheese and 25g parmesan-style cheese then stir everything together until thoroughly combined.
Instructions - to assemble the pancakes and cook
Pre-heat the oven to 190℃ / 375℉ / Gas mark 5
Lay one of the pancakes flat on a work surface with the side that was cooked last uppermost (best looking side underneath). Spoon a large (heaped) tablespoon of the filling along the bottom edge then roll the pancake up into a cigar shape and place into a large gratin dish with the loose edge facing downwards (so it can’t unfurl).
Fill the rest of the pancakes in the same way, until all the mixture is used, laying each pancake snugly side by side in the dish.
Sprinkle with the remaining 50g parmesan-style cheese and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until piping hot and golden brown on top.
Garnish with a sprig of basil and serve immediately with a crisp green salad.
Carbohydrate 6g Protein 11g - per pancake (allow 2 pancakes per serving)
