A Deliciously Quick Breakfast

Most mornings I need a breakfast that is filling, healthy, and will keep me going at least until lunch. Back in the day, eggs fit that bill. I could quickly scramble them up, along with whatever veggies I wanted. Once I went vegan, I needed a new standby. Oatmeal worked for a while, but honestly, it doesn’t always give me the staying power that I need. Plus, if you eat something everyday, it gets really, really boring.

So, my new favorite go-to quick, stick-to-your-ribs, healthy breakfast is savory pancakes. I’ve made them on and off over the years, but I have a new way of doing them, which is much quicker. First, I keep a jar of chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour on my kitchen counter. A large canning jar works great. Then in the morning I sprinkle some chickpea flour in a bowl. I don’t measure at all here. I would guess that I probably use 1/2 cup. Then I whisk in water, until I have a nice smooth, fairly thin batter. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you like garlic (like I do), then press in a clove or two. Now you’re going to add the veggies, using whatever you’ve got on hand. My personal faves are chopped raw organic baby spinach, bean sprouts, shredded zucchini, scallions, sautéed mushrooms, whatever you like (and that cooks pretty quickly too). I just stir the chopped veggies into the batter. Oh, and if you happen to have kimchi on hand (see recipe here), it’s fantastic in the pancakes along with spinach and sprouts (and sometimes a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds too).

I then preheat a large cast iron griddle that I lightly grease (you can also use a non-stick pan too). I re-check the consistency of the batter. You want it on the thin side, to get a very thin pancake. If it needs to be thinned, simply add a little more water as needed. The I scoop some batter onto the griddle, and using the back of a spoon, spread it as then as you can get it. It’s a very forgiving batter so if you have some holes from spreading it, just fill in the holes with a little drizzle of additional batter. Cook it over medium heat until it’s totally cooked through and nicely browned on the bottom, probably 5 to 10 minutes. Flip it over and cook it for at least another 5 minutes, or until nicely browned and the pancake is cooked all of the way through. These pancakes take a little longer to cook than regular pancakes, due to the chickpea flour.

I like to serve the pancakes a couple of different ways. I either make a dipping sauce for it with tamari, sriracha and a drop of sesame oil, or I serve them with the mustard dill dip I posted about the other day, leftover cheese sauce or gravy. Now when I make cheese sauce or gravy (or dill dip), I make sure that I have extra for serving the next morning with these savory pancakes.

You really only need one pancake per person, as they are really filling. I usually fold them in half and then top them with a sauce. Sometimes if we have some yummy leftovers, my husband will stuff the cooked pancake with it, just like an omelette. Other times, I’ll leave the veggies out of the pancakes, and sauté them up in a separate pan, stuffing the pancake with them and then topping with a sauce. These pancakes are seriously easy and can be made dozens of different ways.

You are going to love this recipe, and it really is as easy as making an omelette. Plus, they are cholesterol and animal free, full of protein, and no added fat. Give them a try soon.

xo Julie