Banana, blueberry and pecan pancakes (Vegan and gluten free)

 
 
 
Yes yes yes! This is what I made! I made THIS!
These are banana, blueberry and pecan pancakes from Anna Jones’ new recipe book, ‘A Modern Way to Eat’ and I wanted them for breakfast as soon as I woke up. My tummy told me.
So this is how this miracle occurred.

I leapt out of bed (ha) grabbed my bag, my spangly new LGG3/love affair, my keys, my moolar and left the flat. Then I came back in the flat and had a shower. Nobody likes a stinky Poppy.
Once I was scrubbed and gleaming (ha, again) I took a photo of the recipe on the LGG3 (I am just loving the camera on this phone so much – all the photos in this post are taken on it…and I suspect they will not be the last)  and headed down to Portobello Road Market, where I shop on a weekly basis from the lovely, smiley Sheryl.


 

 
 
Sheryl has been working on the stall for 48 years. She started when she was 8 years old, helping her parents and she is the 4th generation on the same stall – Devlin’s. You’ll find her just opposite the Electric Diner and Cinema.

 
I know I say it all the time, but we are SO LUCKY to have these amazing markets all around London and the UK. I try to shop locally as much as I possibly can and if you live anywhere near Notting Hill, I can highly recommend the wonderful Sheryl. She knows her stuff. And her produce is always top notch.

Then it was a hop skip and a jump round the corner to The Spice Shop, where I picked up some delicious pecans for a pound.. and marvelled at their spice mixes…

And then I whizzed down to Portobello Wholefoods for some agave syrup. There were several to choose from and in the end I opted for the agave nectar from The Groovy Food Company. Mostly because it’s called The Groovy Food Company. If you don’t have any agave syrup, honey is fine to use.

 
Then I meandered home with all my wares. Just £9.87 lighter in my pocket.
Time to cook…

I then caramelised some slices of bananas in a non-stick pan, popped them in the oven to keep warm and toasty, and blobbed large tablespoons of batter in the pan to make my pancakes! I waited until the sides were cooked and I could see bubbles rising to the top, then I flipped them over, after scattering a few blueberries on the top.
I stacked ’em high and drizzled ’em in agave syrup. I squeezed them with lime and then I sprinkled them with walnuts because I forgot to hold some pecans back. Oops. Excitable Poppy.

 
They were so utterly delicious. I have kept back a bit of batter as well, so I can make them again tomorrow morning…
A Modern Way to Eat is by Anna Jones is her first recipe book. It’s very rare that I see a recipe book, where I really really do want to make everything in it. But this book has changed everything. It is crammed full of over 200 everyday vegetarian recipes, many of which are wheat and gluten free.
In Anna’s own words:
“I have tried to bring together a type of food where clean and healthy meets delicious, where sustainable meets affordable, where quick and easy meets hearty. These recipes will make you and the planet healthier”
Love it. It feels as though this book has started a shift in my little world and the way I eat…
I suggest you run out and buy this glorious recipe book immediately. And while you’re at it, why not get the LGG3 too – I couldn’t believe it, but after spending most of the day taking photos, tweeting and emailing, my phone is still on 82%. I also always thought I’d be having to carry around my cumbersome SLR… looks like my world is changing in more ways than one.
 

 
 

RECIPE

Makes 8 little pancakes:
For the batter
100g oats
a good handful of pecan nuts, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
150ml coconut milk or almond milk (I used a little bit more to make a wetter batter)
200g pun net of blueberries
To serve
2 bananas, peeled and cut into thin slices
a little coconut oil or butter
a few pecan nuts, crumbled
lime wedges
honey or agave syrup
First turn the oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas 1/2  to keep everything warm.
Blitz the oats until you have a scruffy oat flour. Add to a bowl with the pecans and throw in the baking powder and salt.
Mix the mashed banana with the milk (you can blitz them together.) Beat the banana mixture into the flour and leave the batter to sit for a few minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat, then add the banana slices and fry on both sides in the dry pan until brown and caramelised. Keep warm in the oven.
Put the pan back on a medium heat and add a little coconut oil or butter. Drop in a healthy tablespoon of batter for each pancake. Once the sides are cooked and bubbles have risen to the top, scatter over a handful of blueberries and flip the pancake over. Cook for another couple of minutes on the other side. The pancakes will stay a little moist in the middle because of the banana, so don’t worry. Keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
Serve the pancakes piled with the banana slices. Add some crumbled pecans and a squeeze of lime, and, if you like, a touch of honey, agave or maple syrup.