Roasted Pumpkin Pancakes

I had half a crown squash in my veg box the other day and couldn’t decide what to make with it. Jake’s not a fan of sweet vegetables like parsnips, squashes or sweet potatoes and I didn’t want to end up eating it all myself. So I roasted it off and mashed it,  thinking that I would freeze the puree in ice cube trays so that I could just use a couple when ever I needed to thicken a sauce. Or something. Jake came into the kitchen as I was mashing the squash and just sort of mentioned that we hadn’t had pancakes in a while. Egads!! Brilliant idea!! I used the Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix which I posted last week and also made up the pancake batter the day before cooking as it’s always better after a rest overnight in the fridge. If you can be that organised. Normally I am not.

I make my pancakes quite small – I use a table spoon to measure them out the batter with and they are only 3 inches wide but I just prefer that as portion control and they are easier to flip too, that the ones than use a half cup measure.

I’m always looking for ways to speed up preparation or just make things easier in the kitchen generally. I find the least stressful way to roast squash is to slice it in half, remove the seeds, drizzle with a little oil and then roast the squash in it’s skin. Once cooked, the skin simply peels off. In this case, I scooped out the seeds, cut the squash into wedges and roasted them at 200C/400F for 20 minutes until they were tender.

These pancakes are not ethereally light and fluffy like my sour cream, cinnamon and blueberry ones – the puree does weigh them down a little but they are absolutely gorgeous! Perhaps separating the egg, whisking the white until the soft peak stage and folding this in would help but we thought they were delicious as they were. The pumpkin sweetens the batter and the spicing warms up the flavour beautifully. I think that a few pumpkin seeds would be nice sprinkled on the top of the pancake batter before they get flipped too. These would go very well with something salty on the side for contrast. Jake mentioned again, the other day, how good the pancakes had been – this was while he was looking at a tray of roasted pumpkin cubes covered in Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix with, however, no desire to taste them!! He really is not a fan of sweet vegetables!

I’m a little late to the party this week but I am still sharing these with the revellers at Angie’ of the Novice Gardener’s Fiesta Friday! Angie has made some stunning pancake waffles with a really clever twist on chocolate “sauce”. Also do take a look at the features from last weeks Fiesta Friday – lots of wonderful recipes that you will want to make right now!

This week we are co-hosted by the bubbly Jhuls of The Not so Creative Cook who has made some rather moreish looking twist cookies and reflects on maturing, accepting, forgiving and moving on.  Our second co-host is Margy of La Petite Casserole who has not only made a gorgeous butternut squash and coconut soup but also begs the question, why  do we eat airline food when, each time we fly, we say we won’t – I know I do that!!  A huge thanks to all three of you!

If you blog and would like to join the party, you would be most welcome. Click on the button below to join Fiesta Friday and please do read the guidelines before linking up.

• Servings: 15 x 3 inch pancakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

INGREDIENTS

• 115g Plain/AP Flour
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 15g butter (preferably, unsalted) melted and cooled but still runny
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 150 ml milk
• 230 g roasted pumpkin puree
• pumpkin seeds – optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the dry ingredients, (flour through to salt) in a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine and aerate.
2. Lightly whisk the egg in a measuring jug then which in the cooled melted butter  then finally tup up with the milk. Whisk again.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Using a circular stirring motion, gently stir to draw in the dry ingredients to the middle, being careful not to over mix – a few floury patches are fine. It should be quite thick and a bit lumpy.
4. Stir in the pumpkin puree.
5. SET ASIDE for 1/2 an hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.Don’t, whatever you do, stir the batter after the resting stage. You just want to scoop out tablespoonfuls, straight into the frying pan.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 75 C or very low. Get an oven proof dish out and a piece of foil to cover it with.
7. Put the widest non-stick fry pan  you have, on a medium low heat. If it is too high, the outside burns before the insides are cooked…Once the pan is hot, brush with a little butter (I stick a piece on the end of a table knife and swipe it around the pan, cringing whenever the metal touches the non-stick base).
8. Using a tablespoon, scoop out and place the batter on the pan – I can get 4 to 5 pancakes going in mine but it is a rather large pan. The batter spreads a little so just try spacing 3 out to start with. Top with a few pumpkin seeds if desired.
9. They will need to cook for  2 or 3 minutes on this side. Keep checking and also keep an eye on the heat which you may have to keep adjusting. (Just have a peek under the pancake, by lifting a corner with a spatula, to see how it is colouring)
10. When the tops of the pancakes have lots of holes in them, it is time to flip them over.  The second side will not take as long to cook – about a minute – so keep an eye on them. When they are done, remove them to the ovenproof platter, loosely cover with foil and pop them in the oven. Carry on with the next round, lightly buttering the pan when you need to and keeping an eye on the heat.
11. Serve with proper Canadian maple syrup.

© Selma Jeevanjee and Selma’s Table, 2013, 2014. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including photographs without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Selma Jeevanjee and Selma’s Table with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.