Green Buckwheat Crepes

So where do you get your inspiration for dinner?

Finn with "silverbeet ears" 

For me tonight it was partly related to Summer’s day at school and partly what was in the veggie patch.  At school it was Pancake Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday, the marking of the start of lent leading up to Easter).  So I decided to follow suit and went with the theme for dinner along with a bit of a religious education for the kids.

Of course I like to cook outside the square a little, so it was a savoury pancake, and not just any pancake but a green buckwheat crepe.  The veggie patch is overflowing with silverbeet but there's also a few tomatoes, zucchini and chillies too.  These were thrown into my stock standard yet rather flexible Mexican bean and veggie filling.  A creamy mushroom and spinach sauce would be quite delicious too.  But the fun was in the pancake.

I combined buckwheat with regular flour just because I like to vary the grains we eat and I love the earthy flavour buckwheat gives.  You could use any other grain such as oats or spelt which leads to my favourite part of owning a Thermomix.  The fact that you can make your own fresh flour from any grain you want.

The hero of the pancake was the green. We love eating green in this Veggie house.  I think we all crave it at times. I used silverbeet because that’s what’s in the veggie patch but spinach or kale would work just as well.  These crepes are also great as finger food for little ones or as a wrap for school lunch the next day.  Yum!

Green Buckwheat Crepes

100g buckwheat grouts (ideally soaked overnight) or buckwheat flour
140g plain flour
3 free range eggs
Large handful (around 50g)of greens (silverbeet, spinach or kale)
250g milk (plus a little extra if required)
50g greek yoghurt
Pinch salt
1 tbls coconut oil

• Place buckwheat in Thermomix bowl and grind for 1 minute in speed 9
• Add all other ingredients and mix for 20 seconds on speed 6 or until well combined
• The mixture should be reasonably runny for a crepe so add a little milk if required
• Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes while you prepare your filling
• Heat a little coconut oil in frypan over a moderate heat
• Pour about half a cup of mixture into pan and quickly spread to thinly cover
• Cook for a few minutes on each side or until golden but still soft enough to roll
• Fill with your favourite filling and plenty of cheese, roll them up and enjoy!

Mexican Inspired Vegetarian Pancakes

When the kids say “yum” after the first mouthful of dinner you’re a happy mum.  Especially if the recipe is easy, nutritious and most of all voted delicious by the whole family.  Today was a rainy day and we stayed indoors for most of it but had plenty of fun.  We made a tent over the kitchen table and created our own imaginarium!  There was even a rare moment where I found my 16 month old Finn sitting reading a book.  A rare moment I say as he’s a typical little boy who is always on the go, and he really doesn’t stop all day so it was quite a pleasant surprise.  So cute...

This gave me time to whip up some dinner.  Summer had asked for pancakes for dinner (I think she meant the breakfast type).  However she loves Mexican and wraps so she was pleasantly surprised that this was a combination of all of the above.

Red Kidney Beans



I made a savoury version of Tenina’s buckwheat crepes which were delightfully light.  I just added a splash more milk than the recipe.  And while you could any Mexican or other flavoured filling, I found the flavours in this mix were just right. 

 

Another happy family!

Mexican Style Vegetarian Pancakes

Pancakes

¼ cup buckwheat groats

2 eggs

1 cup milk (plus a little extra if too thick when cooking)

1/4 cup plain yoghurt

1 cup plain flour

• Place buckwheat into Thermomix bowl and mill for 1 minute on speed 9
• Add remaining ingredients and blend for 1 minute on speed 6
• Set batter aside and allow to rest while you prepare filling

Mexican Inspired Vegetarian Pancake filling

50g tasty cheese
1 onion
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1 celery stick
1 carrot
1 zucchini
Approx 100g mushrooms
Approx 80g silverbeet
150g vegetarian mince such as Quorn
1 tin tomatos
1 tin kidney beans drained

• Place cheese in Thermomix bowl and grate for 5 seconds on speed 8 then set aside
• Place onion and garlic in bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 6 then scrape down
• Add a splash of olive oil and spices and sauté for 2 minutes on speed 1 at 100°
• Add silverbeet and chop for 3 seconds on speed 6
• Add celery, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms and chop for an extra 3 seconds on speed 6
• Add tomatos, kidney beans and mince and cook for 15 minutes on speed 1 Reverse at 100°
   
• While mixture is cooking preheat a large frying pan
   
• Add a little butter just before pouring mixture in, just enough to cover when swirled to edges (add a little extra milk if mixture is not thin enough)
   
• Cook for 1 minute until golden before flipping and cooking for another minute
   
• To serve, scoop mixture onto a pancake, top with grated cheese, roll up and top with your favourite guacamole (we love tomatos, avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and a little pepper!)

Ricotta and Banana Hotcakes

What’s there not to love about weekend breakfasts? Especially when it’s easy and delicious, and everyone thinks it’s a treat even when it’s quite healthy and nutritious.  These Ricotta and Banana Hotcakes are a staple in our home for birthdays, mother’s and father’s day or just any weekend that we feel like something special.

Ricotta and Banana Hotcakes

We love them topped with fresh strawberries, blueberry compote, Greek yoghurt, and occasionally a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. With the eggs and ricotta these hotcakes are high in protein and light and fluffy.  Having two Thermomix bowls makes it easier to beat the eggs whites in one then use a 2^nd bowl for the mixture but I also managed just fine with one.  It can also be easily made in a mixmaster.

 

Well what are you waiting for? Put a smile on your family’s face and make them.

Thermomix perfect egg whites!

Cook until just a few bubbles burst

 Ricotta and Banana Hotcakes

4 free range eggs separated
350g Ricotta
140g milk
1 banana
80g wholemeal flour
80g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp raw sugar (optional)

• Heat frying pan to moderately hot with a little butter to coat if required
• Ensure Thermomix bowl is clean and dry, insert butterfly and beat egg whites for 2 minutes on speed 4 at 50° then set aside
• Add all other ingredients including egg yolks and mix for 20 seconds on speed 4.  Scrape down with spatula and repeat for 5 seconds
• Insert butterfly and add egg whites and gently mix for around 3 seconds on speed 3 without loosing lightness of the egg whites
• Pour batches into preheated frying pan and cook for about 2 minutes until a few bubbles start to burst
• Flip and cook for only 1 minute on the other side

Serve warm with berries, extra bananas, yoghurt or whatever favourite toppings you desire

Enjoy!

Zucchini, Corn and Ricotta Pancakes

Zucchini, Corn and Ricotta Pancakes

Living near the beach and being an active family, swimming has been a part of our kids' lives since they were each only a few months old.  Summer has been doing lessons since 4 months old and now she’s in the big kids group swimming on her own.  I just can’t believe how well she’s improved in the past few months, swimming proper strokes and diving like a duck.
 

It’s a busy morning on swimming lesson day but these Zucchini, Corn and Ricotta Pancakes are a perfect pre and post swimming snack for the kids.  They are great as cold finger food for little olds but also serve up delightfully for a light lunch or dinner with chutney and Greek yoghurt.  The chutney we used to day was the delicious Red Hot Apple Chutney that Summer made at kinder for Father’s day.

 

These fritters are high in protein and low in fat with the egg whites and are a great way to disguise veges for fussy kids.  You could substitute 2 whole eggs for the eggs whites and they just wouldn’t be quite as light. I had egg whites left over from making a Custard Tart yesterday and thought this was a healthier option over macaroons or meringue.  While the ricotta adds some protein, using cottage cheese or haloumi instead would boost this even further.

 
Zucchini, Corn and Ricotta Pancakes

4 egg whites
1 spring onion
1 zucchini
100g red capsicum
200g corn kernels
200g flour (I used 1/3 wholemeal)
120g ricotta
Salt & Pepper optional

• Place egg whites in a clean Thermomix bowl with butterfly attached
• Whisk for 2-4 minutes 50° speed 4 until no liquid remains then set aside
• Place spring onion, zucchini and capsicum in bowl (no need to wash between) and chop for 4 seconds speed 6 (you may need to scrape down and repeat for 1 second)
• Add corn kernels, flour, ricotta and seasoning if using and mix on Reverse 5 seconds speed 4 using spatula if required
• Add egg whites and mix until only just combined on Reverse 4 seconds speed 3
• Heat frying pan to moderately hot with a little melted butter
• Place spoonfuls into fry pan and cook approx 4 minutes or until bubbles just start to pop before flipping and cooking a further 2 minutes

Little fritters make a great sized finger food for little hands!

 
Enjoy!