Pancakes are a quick, hearty, meatless meal

Whether you choose to enjoy a meatless meal as part of the Lenten observance or just want to eat a little healthier, breakfast foods can be a tasty way to go.

You don’t have to limit these foods to the morning hours. After all, families don’t always have the time to prepare a full breakfast. Cereals, muffins and doughnuts are more typical than a homemade meal of eggs, waffles or frittatas.

But at night, when families aren’t scrambling quite as much, try pancakes. They typically aren’t too time consuming and provide a tasty, hearty way to end the day. And, if you have leftover batter, you can cover it and refrigerate it until the next morning or — depending on how pressed for time you are — make the extra pancakes and pop them in the toaster the next morning.

Remember, pancakes don’t have to be the typical buttermilk cakes you’re used to.  They can be sweet or savory, grilled or baked and topped with syrup or just melted butter.

The shape and structure of pancakes varies by culture. French crepes, German potato pancakes and savory Japanese okonomikayi are all examples of pancakes.

If you’re tired of plain pancakes, add some chopped pecans, fresh fruit or even chocolate chips to the batter.

You can top them with apple, blueberry or cherry pie filling, fresh strawberries and whipped cream, sliced fresh apples sautéed in butter or cinnamon or orange marmalade.

If you want to make the meal a little more special — and appealing to children — you can top pancakes with ice cream or a fruit or chocolate sauce.

If you’re not observing a Lenten Friday, add some crumbled bacon or sausage to the mix.

And if you need a side dish? Try a fruit compote or a fruit salad.

Have fun and enjoy, remembering that breakfast — even when served at night — can be a delicious and nutritious meal.

Following are breakfast recipes from www.delish.com.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

American Pancakes

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

3 large eggs

1/3 cup melted butter, plus extra for cooking

3/4 cup milk

vegetable oil, for cooking

Mix self-raising flour, baking powder, sugar and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl.

Create a well in the center with the back of your spoon then add eggs, melted butter and milk.

Whisk together until smooth.

Heat a small amount of butter and one teaspoon of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter looks frothy, pour in rounds of the batter, approximately three inches wide. Make sure you don’t put the pancakes too close together as they will spread during cooking. Cook the pancakes on one side for about one to two minutes or until lots of tiny bubbles start to appear and pop on the surface. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Serve your pancakes stacked up on a plate with a drizzle of maple syrup and any of your favorite toppings.

Chocolate-filled Pancakes with Caramelized Banana

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1½ teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoon sugar

3 large eggs

1/3 cup melted butter, plus extra for cooking

3/4 cup milk

drizzle of oil

3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread

2 large bananas, peeled and thickly sliced on an angle

maple syrup and 4 tablespoons toasted, chopped hazelnuts, to serve

To make the pancake batter, mix the flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl with a whisk. Make a well in the center, crack in the eggs and add the melted butter and milk. Whisk the wet ingredients in the center until combined, then gradually incorporate the dry ingredients until you have a thick, smooth batter. Heat the oven to its lowest setting and put a couple of baking trays in to keep the pancakes warm as you cook them.

Heat a tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, pour rounds of batter into the pan, about three inches wide – leave space between them as they will expand as they cook. Scoop teaspoons of chocolate spread from the jar and pop one in the center of each pancake, then use a tiny bit more batter to just cover the chocolate spread. Continue cooking for one or two minutes until the underside is golden brown, then carefully flip the pancakes and cook for one minute more on the other side. When golden, transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in the oven while you cook the next batch.

When the pancakes are all cooked, caramelize the bananas. Wipe the frying pan clean with paper towel and scatter in the remaining two tablespoons of sugar. Heat the sugar until it melts and starts to bubble to a deep amber color, then toss in the bananas and coat them in the caramel. If the sugar hardens, drizzle in a little maple syrup or water, then bubble for 30 seconds until syrupy.

Serve the pancakes stacked with the caramelized banana pieces between the layers and more piled on top. Drizzle over the maple syrup, then scatter over the hazelnuts.

Ham and Cheese Pancakes

1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon oil, plus extra for frying

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup smoked ham, diced

1/4 cup gruyère, grated

small handful chives, snipped

Put the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Combine the eggs with the milk and oil, then gradually pour into the dry ingredients, whisking constantly until it’s a smooth batter.

Swirl a little oil around a large, non-stick pan over a gentle heat. Pour a quarter of the batter into the pan, tilting to coat the entire base. Cook for one minute, flip over and cook for a further 30 seconds. On one half of the pancake, add 1/4 of the butter and sprinkle over 1/4 of the ham and cheese. Sprinkle black pepper and fold the pancake over the fillings. Fold in half again and transfer to a plate to serve. Repeat until you have four pancakes. Serve atop with the chives.

www.delish.com

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup ricotta

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar for serving.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and ricotta, then add eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, lemon juice, and zest.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When butter is foamy, reduce heat to medium-low and ladle pancake batter into skillet. Cook until bubbles start to form in batter and pancake is golden underneath, about three minutes. Flip and cook other side until golden, another three minutes.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup and powdered sugar.

Keto Pancakes

1/2 cup almond flour

4 ounce cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Butter, for frying and serving

In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, cream cheese, eggs, and lemon zest until smooth.

In a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, melt one tablespoon butter. Pour in about three tablespoons batter and cook until golden, two minutes. Flip and cook two minutes more. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.

Serve topped with butter.

Japanese Soufflé Pancakes

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 lemon, zested

1/4 cup flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3-1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar

oil (for greasing)

2 tablespoon water

Softened butter

Agave or maple syrup

In a mixing bowl, by hand, whisk together egg yolks, milk, almond extract, and lemon zest. Add the flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using a whisk attachment, combine egg whites and lemon juice. Beat on medium high speed until frothy then sprinkle in cream of tartar with the mixer running. When egg whites have become more frothy than liquidy, scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all cream of tartar is incorporated. Return whisk to medium high speed and very gradually add powdered sugar to the egg whites, continuing to whip until the meringue reaches a stiff peak, about 10 minutes. (Be patient and let the meringue stiffen until it resembles the texture of a marshmallow.)

While the meringue whips, prep four ring molds by wiping the insides with oil. Place the ring molds in a large nonstick skillet (with a lid) over low heat. Lightly grease the pan with oil. The pan should be warm enough to help the bottoms of the pancakes set but not hot enough to immediately evaporate water.

Add 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk base and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining meringue to the batter and gently fold the meringue into the batter until just incorporated and no more streaks are visible.

Once the pan is warm, scoop batter into greased ring molds to form four even mounds. The batter should be near the top, but be sure not to overfill the ring because it will expand.

Add one tablespoon of water around the pan and cover with lid. Let the pancakes cook, undisturbed for about eight minutes until the water has evaporated and the bottom of the pancakes have turned a light golden brown.

Carefully flip the pancakes in their rings and add another tablespoon of water to the pan. Cover the pan and cook the pancakes for another five to six minutes. Once fully cooked, gently remove the ring mold from each pancake using a pair of silicone tongs. If pancakes don’t release cleanly, gently slide a butter knife around the edge of the mold and gently jiggle the mold until the pancake comes loose. Once the pancakes are out of their molds, trim any extra with a butter knife.

Serve the pancakes immediately, topped with softened butter and agave, if desired.

Copycat IHOP Pancakes

For the whipped butter:

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 tbsp. whole milk

For the pancakes:

2 c. all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. melted butter

Maple syrup, for serving

For the whipped butter:

In a medium bowl using a hand mixer or whisk, beat together butter and milk until mixture is fluffy and scoop-able, two to three minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

For the pancakes:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk. Add eggs over buttermilk and whisk until combined, then fold in melted butter until just combined. There maybe some clumps.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until hot but not scorching, two to three minutes. Using a measuring cup, ladle 1/2 cup batter into the center of the skillet and use the bottom of the measuring cup to smooth batter out into a uniform circle about 5-1/2 inches wide.

Cook two to three minutes until sides start to lift from the pan and bubbles start to form on top. Flip, then cook an additional one to three minutes, or until the other side is golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven until ready to serve. Repeat with remaining batter.

Top pancakes with a scoop of whipped butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

Copycat McDonald’s Hotcakes

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 tablespoon maple syrup, plus more for serving

1/4 cup oil, plus more for cooking

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Butter, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, and syrup until combined. Add baking powder, flour, and salt. Whisk together until just combined (not smooth).

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop batter onto the skillet/griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about two to three minutes. Flip gently so as to not deflate the rise, and cook for another two minutes, or until the hotcakes are cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup and a perfectly square pat of butter.