Savoury banana oatmeal pancakes

I woke up Sunday morning craving banana pancakes, and my friend Xola came to my rescue again, letting me use his kitchen for my culinary adventures. Thank you, X! 🙂

I decided to make the pancakes savoury rather than sweet, so I added onion and pepper. I topped them with peanut butter cream and paired with a sweetcorn and mushroom side dish. Everyone knows bananas and peanut butter are like 5 and 6; they go together perfectly. But I didn’t want to just spread peanut butter on the pancakes; that would be so boring. I whisked the peanut butter with milk to make it into a cream that I could pour over the pancakes.

The pretty looking pancakes you see in the photo are the work of Xola’s flatmate Disi who showed me how to make proper round, perfect looking pancakes. (I used to just slap them in the pan and let them take whatever shape.) The trick is to treat the pancake with tender loving care before you flip it. As it starts to solidify you nudge the pancake gently around the edges into a round shape. When bubbles form and the edges are solid, you go round the edges with the spatula, lifting slightly bit by bit. Finally you slide the spatula underneath the whole thing and flip. It’s easier to understand if you can see it. Silly me, it didn’t occur to me to record Disi at work. Remind me to make a video of the process sometime.

In the meantime, try out the recipe – it will taste good no matter what shape the pancakes take 🙂

What you will need

For the pancakes

*makes 6-8 small pancakes

+ 1/2 cup wholewheat flour

+ 2 cups oats

+ 4 large, very ripe bananas (if your bananas are small, use 6)

+ 2 tablespoons chia seeds (acts as egg replacer; ground flaxseeds also work)

+ 2 cups plant-based milk of choice (I used non-GMO soymilk)

+ 2 teaspoons baking powder

+ 1 medium red onion, diced

+ 2 atarodo (I substituted with 6 green chilli peppers), diced

+ 1/2 teaspoon thyme and a sprinkle of salt

+ olive oil (to fry the pancakes)

For the corn + mushroom hash

+ 1 cup sweetcorn (I used raw sweetcorn and cooked it, but canned or frozen corn is fine too)

+ 6 large white button mushrooms, sliced

+ 1/2 medium onion, sliced

+ 6 cloves of garlic, minced

+ spices: 1/2 teaspoon red chilli pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, salt

+ 1 teaspoon olive oil

+ 1/3 cup water

For the peanut butter cream

+ 2 tablespoons peanut butter

+ 1/2 cup plant based milk of choice (I used non-GMO soymilk)

+ a sprinkle of salt and ground chilli pepper if you want it spicy, or a tablespoon of syrup if you want it sweet (optional)

How to make it

Pancakes

1. Blend the first 5 ingredients into a smooth paste. The consistency should be thick but pourable; add more soymilk or water if too thick. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the next 5 ingredients; adjust salt to your taste.

2. Coat a non-stick pan* evenly with a thin layer of oil. Cook the pancakes for about 5 mins on either side, flipping when bubbles form on the top. Covering the pan while cooking prevents burning and allows the pancakes to cook through properly. Store the pancakes in a pre-heated oven till you’re done making all of them, to keep them warm and fluffy.

*I’m not a fan of non-stick pans because the substances used to coat them are toxic, but I haven’t figured out how to make good pancakes using regular pans. If you know the secret, please share in the comments 🙂

Corn + mushroom hash

1.Add the oil, water, onion, garlic and mushrooms to a pan and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

2. Add the sweet corn and spices and leave to simmer another 5 minutes.

Peanut butter cream

Whisk the ingredients together over low heat in a small saucepan. The consistency should be thick but pourable; adjust by adding more peanut butter or soymilk until you get the right consistency.