Buckwheat Spice Pancakes

A few facts before the food:

Buckwheat, despite its name, is not a cereal or grass. Technically a fruit seed, it's related to sorrels and rhubarb, and contains no wheat or gluten. Since the triangular seeds of buckwheat behave very much like a grain, it's called a pseudocereal.

Rich in amino acids, protein, minerals, and other good stuff - including cholesterol-fighting rutin - buckwheat is a boon to the gluten-intolerant (among whom are numbered several of my family members). The whole or cracked seeds make delicious hot cereal, and buckwheat flour is a classic for American-style pancakes, giving them a rich and slightly earthy taste.

Those of you who grew up reading the "Little House" books of Laura Ingalls Wilder may remember this tantalizing quote from The Long Winter:

"The pancakes were no ordinary buckwheat pancakes. Almanzo
followed his mother's pancake rule and the cakes were
light as foam, soaked in brown sugar...."

I always wondered what that "pancake rule" was, and I think I may have found out. While scoping out buckwheat pancake recipes a few years ago, I found one on the Wrightfood blog which uses whipped egg white to lighten the batter and give lift to the cakes. Bingo! Tall, fluffy (and, incidentally, gluten-free) pancakes that soak up syrup like a sponge. Pass the butter, please.

Buckwheat Spice Pancakes - makes about 8
(adapted from Wrightfood's Gluten Free Buckwheat Pancake Recipe)

Combine in bowl:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional, but great for the protein levels and the dietary conscience)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Several dashes nutmeg or other spices of your choice (ginger and allspice work well too)
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Separate 1 egg. Put the white in a small bowl, and beat until it doesn't fall out when you turn the bowl upside down.
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Combine the egg yolk with:
1 cup coconut milk (regular milk may be used but I recommend coconut milk for flavour, body, and because I'm lactose-intolerant)
2 tablespoons olive oil (or melted butter or applesauce)
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Add milk mixture to dry mixture and beat well. Batter will be fairly thick and sticky. Gently fold in egg whites until mostly combined (a few white spots are okay).

Cook by dollops on a hot oiled or buttered griddle. I like to use a large spring-loaded scoop to transfer the batter to the pan - and because the batter is so thick, I usually spread it out a bit with the back of the scoop.

When holes form on top of the pancakes, flip and cook for a minute or so more.

Enjoy with the topping of your choice - Mr. M likes to put jam on his.

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Confetti Farinata

My gluten-intolerant sister and nephew went to Italy last fall (he has a gazillion frequent flyer miles and loves to take female relatives across the pond and beyond, God bless him).  In addition to all its other charms, Italy turns out to be celiac paradise.  The Italians have (according to my sister) perfected the art of gluten-free pasta and offer many traditional dishes that never contained wheat to begin with.

Farinata is one of these.  Made of garbanzo (chickpea) flour, water, salt, and oil, it's a kind of oven-baked pancake, rich and very satisfying.  Like a good tune, it offers scope for endless variations.  My sister has used it as a pizza crust and has spread jam on it for breakfast or dessert.  It's delicious plain, topped only with rosemary and black pepper.

If you search the Internet for farinata recipes, you'll find all kinds of water-to-flour ratios.  It must be a pretty forgiving dish--another plus, in my book.  Some recipes insist on a cast-iron pan, pre-heated in the oven.  I've found it comes out fine in my 11" Wilton cake tin.  Any oven-proof pan that holds the batter no more than 1/2" deep should work.

Here's a version I put together yesterday.

Confetti Farinata (serves 4)

In bowl, combine:
1 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour
1 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin for me)

Let sit for at least 1 hour.  It will get kind of bubbly-looking.

A few lumps are okay

About an hour before you'd like to serve the farinata, heat oven to 450º.   Pour 2 Tablespoons olive oil into the pan of your choice and swirl it around.

Chop:
1/2 red pepper
4 green onions
Fresh rosemary to make 2 tablespoons
(Dried rosemary may be substituted - use 1/3 to 1/2 the amount)

In oiled pan, put all the red pepper and white parts of chopped green onion.  Put pan in oven for about 5 minutes (it's okay if the oven is still heating) to let the veggies pre-cook a bit.

Remove pan from oven.  Sprinkle in the rest of the green onions and half of the rosemary.  Stop for a moment to admire the symphony of colour:

(

I love the way chopped veggies look, all jumbled together

Pour the batter over the veggies:

Bake at 450º for 20 minutes on the bottom shelf, then 5 minutes on the top shelf or until done.

It's done when edges are just brown and the center is firm.

Remove from oven and top with rest of chopped rosemary and freshly ground black pepper.  Grate some cheese over the top (Parmesan, Romano or Grana Padano all work well.)

Running a knife around the edge before slicing will make serving easier.  If you think it looks awfully flat, just remember what the Duchess of Windsor said:  You can never be too rich or too thin.  It applies to farinata as well.

Buon appetito!

P.S.  Looking for garbanzo/chickpea flour?  If your local supermarket offers bulk foods, check there first.  Also try the flour aisle or health food section (I use Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour). Indian or Middle Eastern groceries should also carry it.

Tuesday Tips: Baby Steps to Healthier Living

I'm married to a carb fiend. If DH doesn't get some kind of floury, slightly sugary bit of food with his mid-morning coffee, he just isn't a happy camper.

I, on the other hand, love to bake. A marriage made in heaven? Yes, and I'd like it to last a while. So in the interests of satisfying DH's bakery cravings AND keeping him around, I add whole-grain flours to all my baked goods. I've found I can replace at least half of the all-purpose flour in any recipe with whole-wheat—and it actually improves the taste and texture. We've both become so fond of the nutty taste and pleasant tooth of things baked with whole-wheat flour, that anything made from all-white flour tastes pasty and bland (although that doesn't stop DH from buying dreadful shortening-soaked commercial doughnuts at the corner gas station when nothing else is on offer).

If you're already baking with whole-grain flours, try mixing up the blend. Add old-fashioned oatmeal to muffins and scones for a nice chewy texture. For richer, velvety waffles, replace some of the regular flour with buckwheat. And if you like to pan-fry fish or chicken nuggets, rice flour and cornmeal make wonderful coatings. They fry up crispy and light, and don't soak up oil the way wheat flour does.

P.S. If you're baking something like muffins, cakes, scones or bread with regular wheat flour, don't replace more than 1/4 with non-wheat flour or your baked good might fall apart. The gluten in wheat flour is what holds the dough together. Gluten-free baking requires a good gluten-free flour blend with some xanthan gum to act as a binder.

Happy, healthier baking!

Oven-Baked Vegetable Fritters (gluten free, too)

If you find yourself craving onion rings but can't justify the frying, try these baked fritters instead. (Okay, so you can't call them fritters if they're not fried.  But "fritter" sounds so much more appealing than, say, "vegetable patties".  'Nuff said.)

Makes 8-12

Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl, stir together:
2 Tbsp. garbanzo flour
2 Tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Toss with:
1 small onion, finely chopped or thinly sliced
1 small red pepper, ditto
Chopped fresh or frozen parsley in desired quantity

Stir in:
2 Tbsp. oil (extra virgin olive for me)

Let sit for 10-20 minutes so the veggies can give up a little juice. Try scooping up some of the mixture--if it will hold together, proceed to the next step. If not, drizzle a tablespoon or two of water over it and stir again. (Don't be discouraged if it looks like a bowl of chopped veggies with a bit of flour clinging to them. It will work, I promise you.)

Scoop out balls of mixture onto cookie sheet covered with silicone mat or parchment (I use a 2" spring scoop). Gently flatten with fingers. Drizzle or spray a bit of oil over the tops. This is what mine look like at this point:

Bake for 15 minutes, then gently flip over and bake for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven and enjoy!

We eat them plain, but they'd also be great with tzatziki. Experiment with other veggies and herbs and let me know what you come up with.