Quick and Easy Pancakes With Stuff You Probably Have in Your Pantry (vegan and Gluten-free If You Want!)
Introduction: Quick and Easy Pancakes With Stuff You Probably Have in Your Pantry (vegan and Gluten-free If You Want!)
I grew up in New Zealand, where culinary traditions are a weird mix of English, Maori, Asian and more. People don't usually consider New Zealand as a place to explore gastronomy, but for me a lot of my comfort food still comes from these early habits.
Pancakes was one of our favourite traditions as kids, for special days like Christmas morning, Mother or Father's day, birthdays... and it's an ongoing tradition I love to share with friends and family.
As the years went by, my family moved to Europe, I grew up and became a student and then a person with a job, but there's always pancakes when needed.
When I was a student, although I loved cooking, I didn't have a very big budget for food. At the same time, I learned about eating vegetarian and vegan, and thought I'd give it a try. I think the thing that bumped me into starting to eat vegan was a morning I wanted pancakes, but didn't have eggs or milk for our traditional New Zealand recipe (they're too expensive and after breaking a carton of eggs in my backpack on my way back home I swore to myself I'd never buy them again). So, without much thought, I went on to make vegan pancakes, that are very similar to the original ones, but without eggs and milk! These are family approved (yes, even by the holder of the original recipe), are made with very few ingredients that you probably already have, easily adaptable if you want to be inventive, and great to share!
I've made these pancakes at home, at friend's places after crashing overnight, in hostels with ingredients found in the "sharing" bin, in kid's winter camps for a group of 40, and more times than I can count. Kids can also be involved in most steps, use your judgement on their abilities and safety when near and using the cooking stove! If you make the batter vegan like I do, it's safe to eat when uncooked.
A note to end this introduction: this is my favourite recipe, and it is vegan. But don't feel obliged to make it vegan if you're not! My siblings eat them with whipped cream and bacon. 277
My mum often insisted to put an egg from her chooks in the batter. It can also be made gluten free (I tested it with buckwheat flour and a gluten-free flour mix with success). If you want to try something new, go for it and be creative!
Supplies
This recipe makes about 6 medium pancakes, enough in my experience to feed 2-3 adults with a medium appetite. Just multiply all the ingredients if you want more. Pancakes keep well in the fridge on a covered plate for a couple of days, you can reheat them in the microwave. Make pikelets, or mini-pancakes, with leftover batter, they make perfect snacks!
Ingredients:
* 1 1/4 cup flour (I usually do white or whole wheat, buckwheat and gluten-free mix also work)
* 1/4 cup sugar (white or brown), if you're sensitive to sugar like me you can go for 1-2 tablespoons instead
* 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder, or 1 packet
* A splash of neutral oil (sunflower or rapeseed, but if you're adventurous you can also go for olive)
* 1 1/4 cup water or milk (plant-based or dairy, but water works just fine)
Toppings (suggestions):
* Maple syrup (a classic)
* Lemon juice and sugar (my favourite)
* Whipped cream
* Chocolate spread
* Yoghurt
* Fresh fruit
* Apple sauce
* Jam
* Ice-cream
Utensils:
* Large mixing bowl
* Measuring cup (a re-usable festival EcoCup is also great)
* Whip
* (or a kitchen robot instead of the bowl and whip)
* Non-stick pan
* Ladle
* Spatula to flip the pancakes
Step 1: Preparing the Batter
Take your large mixing bowl, and add in all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar and baking powder. Gently mix them together, then dig a crater in the centre. Add a splash of oil in your crater (something like 1 or 2 tablespoons if you really want to measure), and if you want to add an egg you can also do that now.
Next step is to progressively add water (or milk) and whip up the batter. 1 1/4 cups of water is a good reference, but sometimes depending on the type of flour you might need more or less. 305