Author Notes
I have been experimenting with teff, a grain of fine rust colored kernels with a slightly nutty flavor, that is grown by a local farmer. When cooked it has the consistency of polenta, which reminded me of Mark Bittman's polenta pancakes, which led me to another Bittman pancake recipe for light ricotta pancakes, which led me to this recipe. The result was delicious: light and tender, but with a distinctive flavor and satisfying texture. For topping, I cooked up some local gravenstein apples with butter and cinnamon. These have become our family's hands down favorite pancakes. —Fairmount_market
Ingredients
- pancake batter
-
1/4 cup
teff grain
-
1 cup
water
-
pinch of salt
-
1/2 cup
ricotta
-
3/4 cup
buttermilk
-
2
eggs, seperated
-
1/2 cup
white flour, or substitute teff flour for a gluten free version
-
1 teaspoon
baking powder
-
1/2 teaspoon
baking soda
-
1 tablespoon
brown sugar
-
butter for cooking the pancakes
-
maple syrup for serving
- apple topping
-
2
fairly tart apples such as gravenstein
-
1 tablespoon
butter
-
1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon
-
1/2 teaspoon
turbinado sugar
Directions
-
Cook 1/4 cup teff grain in 1 cups of water with a pinch of salt, simmering for about 20 minutes and stirring occasionally until the water is all absorbed. You could do this ahead of time; to prevent the teff from hardening, mix it into the ricotta when it has cooled a bit and then refrigerate.
-
Prepare the apple topping. Core and chop the apples into ~1/4 inch pieces. Warm a small skillet over medium low heat. Melt the butter and stir in the chopped apples and cinnamon. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and fragrant. Stir in the sugar and cook for a minute longer. Reserve.
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Mix together the ricotta, egg yokes, buttermilk, and cooked teff.
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Combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar.
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Beat the egg whites until stiff.
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Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they are just incorporated. Then gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
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Heat a griddle and when it is warm, grease with a little butter. Use a soup spoon to spoon the batter into pancakes. When permanent bubbles form around the edge and the color of the batter changes on top, flip the pancakes and cooked them for a couple of minutes on the second side.
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Serve the pancakes hot off the griddle with the apple topping and a dribble of maple syrup.
I'm a biology professor and mother of two, and in my (limited) free time I love to cook, which is much more forgiving than laboratory science. Last year I helped start a farmers market in my neighborhood, and to promote it, I created a food blog: fairmountmarket.blogspot.com. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with recipes for local, seasonal ingredients and finding fun ways to cook with my children.
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