The Versatile Pancake

Over the weekend I woke up with the overwhelming feeling of needing to eat pancakes. So I thought, what would be the best way to accomplish Paleo Pancakes and what ingredients could I use? I began to scour the internet at 8:30a.m. on a Saturday determined to find a good recipe.

I came across one that called for 3 eggs, Ghee, Coconut Flour and a sprinkle of salt from Nom Nom Paleo.

I thought…That's easy, and I have Coconut flour. Score!

I ran to my kitchen and began to prepare. I got out the griddle pan. I buttered the pan and turned on the heat. I cracked 3 eggs into my cooking bowl and opened the cupboard looking for the Coconut flour. I had so many gluten-free flours, but I didn't have coconut flour. But I wasn't going to give up. I scoured through my gluten-free flours again and decided on Arrowroot and Flaxseed Meal, since those were the only two Paleo friendly flours I had, and I hoped for the best. You see I have never used either of those flours before, so it really was trial and error. I was uber excited that the pancakes were such an awesome turnout!!

Recipe 1: The Crepe Pancake:

2 Tbsp. Arrowroot Starch

1 Tbsp. Flaxseed Meal

1 Tbsp. unsweetened Coconut Milk

pinch of salt

3 eggs

up to 1 Tbsp. Ghee

optional: handful raw pumpkin seeds

Recipe 2: The Thicker Pancake:

3 Tbsp. Arrowroot Starch

1 Tbsp. Flaxseed Meal

1 Tbsp. unsweetened Coconut Milk

pinch of sea salt

3 eggs

up to 1 Tbsp. Ghee

handful raw pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a mixing bowl add Arrowroot, Flaxseed Meal, Coconut milk, 3 eggs and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer or fork until blended.

2. Grease pan with cooking spray and 1 Tsp or more. Ghee for each pancake. Turn the stove on to medium heat.

3. Add mixture to the pan, so that mixture coats the pan. For a thinner crepe like pancake rotate the pan in a circular motion getting the pancake batter around the edges of the pan.

4. Add pumpkin seeds to pancake, or any spice or herb that you want to try, add at this point.

5. These pancakes cook fast, so just a minute or two on each side, or until lightly browned, while pressing your spatula downward on the pancake.

Serves 2.

And as I began, It turned out to be the easiest and fastest recipe that ever lived. I really think it was a total of 15 minutes from start to finish. Perhaps even less.

I have to say, I was envisioning originally a sweet pancake, but once I realized I didn't have coconut flour I knew this would be savory. I made these two different ways, and both were FANTASTIC. The recipe makes two huge pancakes or a few small ones. The flexibility, the chewiness of the pancake was all so perfect. The arrowroot used curls up the edges, and even one pancake looked like it could have been an edible bowl. It was literally the shape of a bowl. The edges just curled inward. It was wild. Now keep in mind, and do not be alarmed if your pancake morphs into odd shapes. Simply tame your cake with a spatula and pat it down. Each pancake I made had a life of it's own. It was definitely cool to watch. I do believe that the pancakes come out differently if used with a fork to mix the batter vs. a hand mixer. When it comes to appliances you use what you have as there is no 'wrong' way to make this pancake.

Some of the pancakes looked hardened, but within moments would relax back to a flimsy pancake.

(This is from the thicker batter) This one looked like that Indian Nan bread I used to get at the restaurants.

The thin Pancake started out like this: Flat, thin and flimsy. It wasn't as thin as a paper thin crepe, but it was thin enough for me. I got it this thin by rotating the pan in a circular motion so the batter would hug the sides of the pan too.

Then it morphed into this: