I have been making buttermilk pancakes for a hundred years. Sometimes I swap in yoghurt. Rarely so I make ricotta pancakes because you have to whip the eggwhites separately and, quite frankly, who has the inclination to be doing that early in the day?

Yes, you have to make some porridge first and let it cool a little. This almost made me not make them (because: lazy and impatient) but in all honesty? Make it, pour it into a bowl, get everything else ready, make a cup of tea and then come back to it. Good to go.

Oh, I’ve taken to making double the batch – the better seems even better the next day.

Porridge pancakes

allconsumingfood

A hearty and healthy pancake option.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  

Dry ingredients

• 3/4 cup oatbran
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt

Wet ingredients

• 3 tbsp 45g butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup porridge see below
• 2 eggs

For the porridge

• 1/2 cup heaped rolled oats (you can use normal or quick, I use normal because i quite like the texture it brings to the pancakes)
• 1 cup water

Instructions

 

For the porridge

• Cook on the stovetop. Bring to the boil and cook - about a minute for quick oats, five for normal rolled oats - then pour into a bowl and let cool

For the pancakes

• Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl
• In another bowl whisk all the wet ingredients together - all of it, the oats, the eggs, the butter, the milk. It won't be smooth because of the porridge but just make sure it's all nicely combined
• Mix it together nice and gently. Don't beat it to death, just nice big turns until it's all incorporated. It's a thick batter. Don't panic!

To cook

• Heat a frypan over high heat, add a knob of butter and then knock the heat down to low.
• Add a good dollop of pancake mix - I use a soup ladle
• Then - and this is my tip of the century! - pop a lid over it. It captures the heat and helps cook the pancake evenly.
• Give it a couple of minutes, don't be scared, take the lid off and have a look. When there are bubbles appearing on the top then you can flip it
• Cook it for a couple of minutes on the other side and you're done!
• Serve with whatever you like - maple syrup and strawberries are the go in this house. I actually like them plain because, weird.

Onward!