Sunday 27 July 2014

Pan-Exotica

Fritelle Dolce con Huacatay, Menta, Limone, Pesca, Mandorla & Miele
Pancakes with Huacatay, Mint, Lemon, Peach, Almonds & Honey



Simple but so different and exotic by adding my favorite herb, Huacatay, lemon zest and mint, these pancakes are bursting with fresh, fruity goodness and taste better still with crunchy toasted almonds and honey... Oh wow! What a way to start your day!

Try to get this wonderful Peruvian herb if you can, it's mild, rich, lemony flavor is just out of this world! You could try using lemon balm or verbena as a substitute if you can't get huacatay... But oh wow, if you can, you will soon find out why I love it so much!



This is indeed a pretty lavish-looking breakfast, but look at my ingredients list and you will see that all I needed was one egg to make these 6 pancakes... so go ahead and treat yourselves! I also, as you know, always make a point of using very little fat at all in any of my dishes... so yes! You can indulge and will not believe how good such healthy stuff can taste! 


So, here are my ingredients: 1 egg, 1 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup of milk, 2-3 small pears (or equivalent), 1 handful almond slivers, 1 small stalk Huacatay, 1 sprig of mint, a little lemon zest and honey to taste.


 These little pancakes are fluffy and soft- the go wonderfully with fresh fruit, such as peaches in this case and are great at soaking up yummy honey! But the best thing is their lemony-minty fresh flavor! Such a nice treat and so different!

 

I used my immersion mixer to make my batter, but of course you can use a blender... I just don't have one!

Put the egg yolk, the huacatay and the mint leaves in first with a few pieces of lemon zest.


 

 Add the milk, the peach, cut into small pieces and a little honey... and whizz the whole mix up into oblivion!

 

Once it is finely mixed and looks like something you may remember from the Exorcist, add the flour and baking powder and work that in, then allow the batter to rest for 4-5 minutes, whilst you beat the egg whites up nice and fluffy.

 

Gently fold 1/3rd of the fruity batter into the fluffy, snowy egg white until it is nicely blended. Don't be afraid of it- be gentle- but just keep going until it is nice and smooth.

 

Now add the remaining batter and swiftly stir it in- you will find it blends much more easily now that some of the batter has already been worked-in.

 

Fry the pancakes in a non-stick pan with just a little bit of butter... I made mine 2 tablespoons big in size- it is up to you of course, but they are easier to handle and prettier this way.

I say easier to handle because the batter IS very light and fluffy- so after they have been in the pan for 2 minutes or so, flip them over carefully and let them set from the other side too, to get them a little firmer, then keep flipping until they are as brown as you like them.


 

I served mine as you can see with a few slices of peach, the almond slivers, which I toasted in a dry pan for a little extra crunch and a nice drizzle of honey- but even here, there is absolutely no reason to overdo it! Just 1 tablespoon was plenty to get all of these pancakes coated and sweeter than sweet!

 

Yep- I would call that one mighty-fine and delicious looking breakfast right there! Whadda you all think? 

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