ORANGE & POPPYSEED PANCAKES

I love using citrus zest in place of sugar to add flavour to otherwise bland ingredients. Take these Orange & Poppyseed pancakes. Without the orange rind and poppy seeds, this recipe is are dangerously close to producing standard, run of the mill pancakes. Add some orange zest & juice with a sprinkling of poppy seeds and enter the flavour. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup self-raising flour (or gluten-free self-raising flour if intolerant)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon natural maple syrup (not 'flavoured' maple syrup)
• 1 cup reduced-fat cows milk (or lactose-free, soy or unsweetened almond or oat milk if intolerant to dairy)
• a dash of vanilla essence 
• 1 free range egg, lightly beaten
• the zest and juice of a medium orange 
• extra virgin olive oil spray or 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 

COOKING 

1. Combine the flour and poppy seeds into a large bowl. Make a well or hole in the centre. Pour the syrup, milk, vanilla, egg and orange zest & juice in a medium bowl into the well and stir well to combine. 

2. Heat a pancake pan or medium non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat and add cooking oil spray or 1 teaspoon olive oil. Using a 1/4 cup as a measurement, spoon the mixture into the pan in droplets and create circles. (However big you want to make the pancakes is up to you- I find that it is easier to cook them if they are slightly bigger than pikelets but smaller than pancake size). Turn each pancake over when bubbles begin to appear on the surface. Keep the pan on medium-low heat. Cover to keep warm and repeat until all batter has been used. 

These pancakes have enough flavour so there is no need to serve with any syrup! You can reserve some of the orange zest and poppy seeds and serve with these sprinkled on top, if desired. 

Serves / 4 
Total Preparation & Cooking time / around 15 minutes 

x Emily