Spelt and lupin blueberry hotcakes
<p><strong><em>Nutritionist and author of new book </em>Get Lean, Stay Lean<em>, Joanna McMillian explains why she loves this healthy recipe for spelt and lupin blueberry hotcakes.</em></strong></p>
<p>I’m always looking for ways of improving the nutritional profile of recipes made with flour, while keeping the end result delicious. Lupin flour is well worth looking for with this in mind. Lupin is a legume, but it’s unusual in that it has a low carbohydrate content (less than 10 per cent dry weight) and is higher in protein than almost all other plant foods. It works really well when used to substitute some of the flour in a baking recipe or, as I have done here, to make hotcakes.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Serves:</span></strong> 6</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Juice and grated zest of 1/2 orange</li>
<li>1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste)</li>
<li>125g blueberries, plus extra to serve</li>
<li>2 free-range or organic eggs</li>
<li>375ml buttermilk (or mix half and half milk and natural yoghurt if you don’t have buttermilk)</li>
<li>140g lupin flour</li>
<li>1 tablespoon pure maple syrup</li>
<li>140g spelt wholegrain flour (see note)</li>
<li>2 teaspoons baking powder</li>
<li>2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon iodised salt</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Method:</span></strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Whisk together the eggs, extra virgin olive oil, buttermilk, orange juice and zest, vanilla seeds and maple syrup in a bowl.</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, sift in the flours and add the baking powder and salt.</li>
<li>Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry, and gently combine, taking care not to over-mix. Fold through the blueberries and set aside to rest for a few minutes.</li>
<li>Preheat the oven to fan-forced 140°C (275°F/Gas 1).</li>
<li>Heat a pancake pan or hotplate over medium heat and spray or brush with olive oil. Pour 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) of the batter into the pan to form a circle. Depending on the size of your pan, you will be able to cook more than one hotcake at a time. Just ensure you leave enough room between hotcakes so they don’t stick together. Cook for 1–2 minutes until beginning to bubble and then flip. Cook for a further 1–2 minutes until a nice golden colour. Place on an ovenproof plate lined with paper towel and transfer into the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining hotcakes. Repeat, until all the batter is used—this quantity makes 12 hotcakes. Be sure to place a sheet of paper towel between each layer.</li>
<li>Serve the hotcakes topped with light cream cheese or ricotta and, if you like, a teaspoon of pure fruit spread or raspberry purée.</li>
</ol>
<p><em><img width="161" height="212" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35084/image__161x212.jpg" alt="Book Cover _Get Lean , Stay Lean _Joanna Mc Millan" style="float: right;"/></em></p>
<p>Tip: Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat that is making a comeback, largely due to anecdotal accounts of people claiming they have problems digesting regular modern wheat, yet are fine with spelt. Any differences have not yet been conclusively confirmed in research, but I’m all for diversifying the grain types in our diets and if you do have trouble with wheat, why not try it? For those without any intolerances you can happily substitute a regular whole-wheat flour here—they’re certainly cheaper.</p>
<p><em>Images and recipes from </em>Get Lean Stay Lean<em> by Joanna McMillan (Murdoch Books RRP $35). Available from <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/get-lean-stay-lean-by-joanna-mcmillan-9781743368480/%23.WHcXs1N95hE" target="_blank">Dymocks</a></strong></span>.</em></p>
