The Easy Vegan Cookbook: Vegan Apple Zucchini Buckwheat Pancakes

The Easy Vegan Cookbook by Kathy Hester

I am thrilled to have received a copy of Kathy Hester’s new book, The Easy Vegan Cookbook (along with the task of making a recipe and writing this post). I like the look and feel of the book – it has lots of photos, glossy paper and my favorite lay-flat binding (which I use in my book The New Fast Food). The end papers are green and this 200+ page book feels good in my hands. The recipes have oil-free, soy-free and gluten-free options where appropriate. These are truly easy vegan recipes which will help anyone eat well easily when following a vegan diet and might be a great book for people new to this way of eating.

As for me, I could have chosen a “more usual” recipe or a more visually appealing recipe but I have a thing for buckwheat flour, although not quite as much a hankering for pancakes. But heck, it’s nearing the end of summer and it’s when both apples and zucchini are still abundant so why not make the recipe for Apple Zucchini Buckwheat Pancakes?

Other wonderful recipe choices include Warming Lentil Soup, Ma Po Tofu, Zucchini Masala Fries or Creole Okra Corn Soup from one of the nine chapters in the book. The chapter headings cover a lot of culinary ground:  Make Ahead Staples, Soups Save the Day, Simple Stews, Pushover Pastas, Manageable Mains, Speedy Stir-Fires, Easy Sandwich Filings and Spreads, Straight-Forward Sides and Desserts and Drinks.

Rather than those other recipes, I said that I’d be making pancakes, very large pancakes, using the directions in the recipe of using ½ cup batter for each. Hester recommends having two pans going at once to do this but I only have one great ceramic coated nonstick pan so it’s slow going but things are moving along. Making the batter is easy enough and the ingredients might be standards in your kitchen.

Apple Zucchini Pancake batter in pan.

I keep wondering why buckwheat tastes so good but doesn’t look so good? It seems like another brown “hippie” food to the omnivores. These are definitely not the light and fluffy pancakes that one can make by adding milk and eggs to a premade pancake mix. They are hearty, they are very brown, they are a bit heavy but oh my, they are darned tasty, with hints of the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg called for in the recipe.

What I like: the flavor, the bits of apple and zucchini, the sturdiness which is different than the texture (at least in my mind) and how they fill you up without making you feel like you ate a pile of dough

What I don’t like: the color (please buckwheat, my gluten-free friend, why can’t you get a better look?) and heavy texture

After making the initial two pancakes, I added more cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract which I thought that they needed. This batter seems as if it would be easy to play with and adapt to your taste and desires. I thought about repeating the process but making the pancakes savory by adding some curry powder.

The batter which makes 6 large pancakes is enough to feed at least 3 hungry people.  The pancakes freeze very well and it’s simple to reheat them in the toaster oven, which is what I did. They probably also reheat well in your nonstick pan (which I didn’t do). I can see them as an easy grab n go on a weekday morning as you’re heading out the door.

APPLE ZUCCHINI BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES Photo Credit © Ann Olivero.

The recipe is well written, which is what I expect from Kathy Hester,  and truly makes 6 large pancakes. I think that next time I would prefer to make 12 smaller pancakes as these might make an amazing nut butter pancake stack, or little “sandwiches”. Spreading a little apple butter on along with nut butter would be the crowning jewel.  Eating two large pancakes would be just too much food for me.

If you are looking for a different kind of breakfast, brunch or dinner, then try these out. Perhaps adding some fresh apple slices might make the color more appealing but the taste just might win you over.

Vegan Apple Zucchini Buckwheat Pancakes

Did you know that buckwheat is gluten-free? There’s something about the earthy flavor and the dark pancakes that make me think of fall, but they are good any time of the year. These are a delicious way to use up the last of your zucchini while adding in a fresh-picked apple. Plus, you get to have breakfast for dinner!

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Servings 6 pancakes

Calories 139.3 kcal

Ingredients

  

• DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup 120 g buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon 1.6 g cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt

• WET INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups 355 ml soy milk (*use other nondairy milk)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons 14 g ground flaxseed mixed with 4 tablespoons (59 ml) warm water
• 1 cup 124 g shredded zucchini
• ½ cup 62 g shredded apple
• 2 tablespoons 30 ml olive oil (**use applesauce or mashed banana)
• Maple syrup to serve
• Nondairy butter to serve (optional)

Instructions

 

• Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing b owl and set aside. Add the vinegar to the milk. It will curdle if you use soy milk, making a faux buttermilk. Mix the ground flaxseed with the warm water in a small bowl; it will thicken. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients to the flax mixture.
• Start heating your pancake pan over medium-low heat. Lightly coat the pan with olive or coconut oil. (*Use a nonstick pan.)
• While the pan is heating, add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. Drop about ½ cup
• (118 ml) of batter per pancake.
• Cook for about 4 minutes or until you see the edges get dry. Flip and cook about 2 or 3 minutes more.
• Serve with maple syrup and, if desired, some nondairy butter.
• gluten-free, soy-free option*, oil-free option**

Notes

When making larger pancakes like these, I use two skillets simultaneously to cut my time in front of the stove in half.

Don’t limit yourself to zucchini and apple. Try adding berries in the spring, pears in the fall and carrots any time.

Reprinted from The Easy Vegan Cookbook Copyright © 2015 by Kathy Hester. Published by Page St Publishing.