Now that Christmas is over, and many of us have over indulged, I have a recipe that is light, packed with protein and vegetable. If you need to feel less guilty, then try this healthy pancake for breakfast, a light lunch or as a snack.
I have a butternut squash sitting in my kitchen for a few days already. I was thinking about how to use it more creatively and healthily. I came across some fritters recipes and decide to experiment with this.
I wanted a healthy and less fattening fritter, so using gram or chickpea flour will increase the protein content. Not deep-frying it is another calorie saving technique. Using a calorie control oil spray is really helpful as the amount of oil used in cooking is vastly reduced. Since using a spray some years ago, I cannot do without it. It cuts down the use of oil drastically. Nowadays I hardly buy cooking oil. 1 L bottle will last me for months. Of course, sometimes, I do deep fry my food, but that is not often.
In this recipe, you can add other vegetables that you wish, like leeks ( I almost wanted to use this as I have some left-over bits in the fridge), bean sprouts, and other vegetables that you have.
As there is no wheat flour, this recipe is gluten-free. The patties are a bit soft due to lack of gluten so you need to handle it lightly. The patties firm up a bit as it cools. You can serve it cold as well.
You can serve this with chilli sauce, salad cream, etc. You can use nuts as garnish as well.
Happy experimenting.
Butternut Squash Dropped Fritters or Pancakes
Quick Info
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: £
Time: 5 mins to prep 30 mins to cook
Ingredients:
300g Grated butternut squash – from ½ a small one
1 Small red onion – thinly sliced
1 Pinch fennel seeds
¾ Tspn Salt or to taste
½ Tspn Black pepper powder
1 stalk Spring onion thinly sliced diagonally
1 Green chili -deseeded and chopped. You can add more if desired
¼ Tspn Chopped rosemary leaves
½ Small lime- zest of half a lime
30g Lentil powder or chickpea powder
15g Corn flour
1 large Egg – beaten
Calorie control oil spray
Note: to make the pancake more fluffy, you can add a1/4 Tsp of bicarbonate of soda. You can add in with the lentil powder.
Garnish
Nuts and spring onions, etc
Mayo, chilli sauce, etc., of your choice
Method:
1. Lightly spray a frying pan with oil.
2. Soften the onion and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, place the squash, and other ingredients except the egg and the flours. Mix with a fork.
4. Then add in the beaten egg and the flours and stir in the flours. Mix well.
5. Heat a frying over medium heat and spray pan with calorie control oil spray.
6. Scoop a tablespoonful of the mixture onto the pan and flatten it to a patty, about 1 cm thick. Let it fry until lightly browned – about 3 minutes on each side. Plate up.
7. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
8. Garnish and serve.
Serve with dips of your choice, like chilli sauce, mayo or salad cream or cream fraiche.
Well, this is a good start for the new year.
Wishing you a happy and victorious 2018.
Cheers and click ‘like’ and ‘share’ with your family and friends.
Penang Lassie.
