We’re back with our Sweet Potato Chronicles friends, Ceri and Laura, authors of the phenomenal cookbook, How to Feed a Family. To start 2014 off right, we’re getting Back to Breakfast! These healthy, delicious recipes will be loved by the whole family. Next up from our ladies: Pancake tacos (these are crazy-genius)!
Born out of desperation to not waste the weekend’s leftovers, the pancake taco is the new hit of our household. Scarlett literally thought it was a joke when I served it to her one morning. “Is this really my breakfast? Can I eat this now?” she asked cautiously. She basically thought it was a treat. And it kind of is, especially if you pile it high with any deliciousness you can think of.
If you make pancakes on the weekend then double the recipe for leftovers. This will give you plenty of stock for the week. I’ve included my Spiced Pancake recipe because they really are the gold standard of cakers. I’m not bragging or anything (ok, I am a bit) but during our last shoot our photographer Maya, with a mouth-full of pancake, yelled across the studio, “You really are the pancake batter Queen.”
But the spicy flavour of these flapjacks really are a great complement to most any filling. I just pop the leftover pancakes in a toaster oven while I prep the filling. For assembly, place a small piece of parchment (or napkin) in the palm of your hand and gently cup the warm pancake so it takes on a taco shape. Then freestyle your filling, choose from our selection of ideas below or create one based on what your family loves or, let’s be honest, what you actually have left in the refrigerator. Have fun creating new variations, and don’t worry if overzealous hands crack the base of the pancake. It all still tastes awesome going down.~Laura Keogh
Spiced Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups spelt flour (you know the SPC drill….use what you’ve got)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh, grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter for pan
Method
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a medium size bowl, whisk milk, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Combine wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir until just combined. (Don’t over mix the batter, in other words you can leave some lumps, since overworking it will cause the gluten in the flour to be released causing chewy pancakes.) Let your batter rest in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, place a large skillet over medium heat and allow it to get nice and warm.
Remove batter from the refrigerator. Add a tablespoon of butter to skillet and allow it to melt and then, working in batches, ladle batter into skillet and cook pancakes until bubbles appear on surface. Flip and cook another minute or two. Remove from skillet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat until you’ve used the batter.
Taco Filling Ideas (but the options are endless, really)
Nutella, sliced banana (shown above left)
Sliced banana, sliced strawberries, a few dollops of Greek-style yogurt, sprinkle of cinnamon (shown above right)
Sliced strawberries, blueberries, Greek-style yogurt, drizzle of honey
All-natural peanut butter, sliced bananas, a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of shaved almonds
All-natural peanut butter, blueberries, a drizzle of honey
Sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, a few dollops of Greek-style yogurt
All-natural almond butter, sliced apples, drizzle of maple syrup, sprinkle of cinnamon
For more amazing recipes from Sweet Potato Chronicles, visit our special Cityline.ca section. And of course head on over to their site for tons of amazing recipes and ideas!
Photo credit Maya Visnyei