These light, fluffy pancakes have an earthy flavour, which is complemented by the sweet and tangy fruit and creamy ricotta. If the rhubarb and strawberries are not at their peak or if they are slightly tart, add a teaspoon or two of maple syrup or honey to sweeten when you serve.
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Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
500g strawberries, hulled, and halved if large
300g trimmed rhubarb stalks, cut into 4cm lengths
finely grated zest of 1 orange
juice of 2 oranges, including pulp
1½ cups (300g) fresh, firm low-fat ricotta
The pancakes
2⁄3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk
2 large eggs
½ cup (80g) wholemeal plain flour
½ cup (75g) buckwheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
light olive oil spray, for cooking
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- Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add half of the orange zest, reserving the remainder for serving, along with the orange juice and pulp. Bring to the boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Remove from the heat and, using a sieve, strain over a bowl, pushing down on the solid fruit to strain all the liquid.
- Set the solid fruit aside to cool, and return the liquid to the pan. Boil over high heat for 4–5 minutes or until thickened and syrupy. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.
- Whip the ricotta and ¼ cup (60 ml) of the cooled syrup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add a little more syrup to adjust the consistency if required. It should be smooth, but not runny.
Transfer to a small bowl, then cover with plastic film and refrigerate until required. Reserve the remaining syrup for serving.
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- Preheat the oven to 100°C (80°C fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- For the pancakes, whisk the buttermilk and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Sift the fl ours, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda over the buttermilk mixture, tipping the husks from the sieve into the bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over low-medium heat. Spray the pan lightly with oil then, working in batches, measure just less than ¼ cup (60 ml) of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Gently tilt the pan to spread out the batter to a thickness of about 1 cm. Cook for 2 minutes or until the pancakes begin to set around the edge and bubbles start to appear on the surface. Flip them over and cook on the other side for another 1–2 minutes until puffed, lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to the prepared tray, cover loosely with foil and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter to make a total of 8 pancakes.
- Serve 2 pancakes per person, topped with one quarter of the whipped ricotta, drained fruit, remaining syrup and zest. You could also dollop some of the ricotta between the pancakes, if you like.
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This recipe is an excerpt from the Baker IDI Wellness Plan which provides 80 delicious recipes to help you have a long and healthy life.
