Chef’s Table: Wheat-free savoury pancakes with purple sprouting broccoli and thyme.
Get flipping on Shrove Tuesday (Tuesday 9th February) with this delicious vegan pancake recipe from Nicholas Allan at the Star Anise café…
Ingredients
Pancakes:
300g spelt flour
½ tsp salt
500ml soya or oat milk
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
black pepper
Method: Combine all the dry ingredients and add the liquid slowly to make a thick pouring batter. Let it sit for 20 minutes, then heat up a ladle of cooking oil or, for added luxury, coconut oil, until super hot. Add a ladle of batter and turn the heat down – fry the pancakes at a lower temperature for best results. Once browned, flip and cook on the other side until brown. Don’t make the pancakes too thick or they will not roll up very easily.
Filling:
2 onions, sliced into half moon pieces
handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
10 stems of purple sprouting broccoli
Seasoning to taste
Method: Fry off the chopped onions nice and slowly until rich and caramelised – be careful not to burn. Add the mushrooms and a glug of soy sauce and cook. Meanwhile, wilt the purple sprouting broccoli in a lidded frying pan with a splash of water and a teaspoon of salt. Season the mushroom and onion mixture then spoon into the middle of the cooked pancake and add a couple of stems of purple sprouting. Fold the pancake over like a giant Havana cigar and serve with rocket pesto or sundried tapenade from the Fresh Olives stall at the market. Cheese lovers can also add their favourite crumbled feta or mozzarella-style cheese to the mushroom mix before serving.
Star Anise Arts Café is a macrobiotic café and restaurant in Stroud’s Gloucester Street, offering a changing menu of fresh, seasonal dishes, cakes and pastries made with locally-sourced ingredients. The menu is mainly vegetarian with the occasional fish dish, and is renowned for its vegan and gluten-free options. The café hosts an exciting programme of arts events throughout the year – for more information, visit staraniseartscafe.com
Where to buy:
- Onions, mushrooms and purple sprouting broccoli: Coleshill Organic, Croft Farm, Duncan Paget & Co, Over Farm Market, Newark Farm, Hotch Potch Farm
- Pesto and tapenade: Fresh Olives
- Cheese: Godsell’s Artisan Cheese, Simon Weaver, White Lake Cheese, The Old Cheese Room, Bath Soft Cheese, Windrush Valley Goat Dairy, Brinkworth Dairy, Jonathan Crump
