Spinach pancakes recipe

This spinach pancake is the perfect savoury option. Swap it for the sweet stuff on Pancake Day - or have this as your main course before a sweet pancake pudding.

These pancakes are packed with superfood ingredients, including avocado and coconut oil. To make the batter healthy, we've added spinach. It's a great source of magnesium, plus it tastes delicious and makes the pancakes bright green - which we love. Unlike our classic pancake recipe, this uses chickpea flour, which is higher in protein that regular plain flour, and contains compounds that can actually help to reduce cholesterol. It's not always the best substitute for flour because it does have a distinctive taste. Plus in cakes and bakes goods it doesn't rise as well as wheat flour. However, in pancakes, which don't need to rise, it's ideal.

Ingredients

For the batter:

• 30g or ⅓ cup gram (chickpea) flour
• 85ml/⅓ cup water
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp no-taste coconut oil or unrefined rapeseed oil

For the filling:

• 50g Parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ avocado, sliced lengthways
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• Chopped chillies (if liked)

Method

1. Add all of the batter ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth. Heat the coconut oil or rapeseed oil in a frying pan.
2. Pour a thin layer of the mixture into the pan. Top with most of the avocado slices, chives and most of the grated cheese – leaving some to decorate with later.
3. Cook a few minutes, loosen edges with a spatula then flip over.
4. Top with the remaining cheese, chives and avocados – plus a few slices of red chilli, if preferred

Top tips for making spinach pancakes

These spinach pancakes contain Parmesan cheese, which is made with animal rennet, so it's not suitable for vegetarians or vegans. However, it's very low in lactose so people with a lactose intolerance can often still eat it. Vegetarians can swap it for a vegetarian hard cheese. There are also vegan-friendly alternatives.

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