Sometimes the best recipes happen by accident, which is exactly how this recipe came to be!
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Believe me, I will “accidentally” be making these much more often!
The other day one of my blogger friends posted her daily eats and one of her sides was a mashed up plantain. I haven’t had plantains in a very long time, but I certainly love them! I thought that would be a great accompaniment to my crock pot chili, so I decided to pick up plantains at the grocery store.
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They were 2 for $1, so I grabbed these guys. Take a closer look:
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That’s right, these were like conjoined twin plantains! I grabbed them plus a single and headed up to the checkout, wondering if I’d be charged as though this special plantain was one or two. The cashier wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but she ended up charging me as though this was one plantain! Score!
I let them ripen up a for a few more days and then got to “work” in the kitchen. This was SO easy I don’t feel like I can call it working in the kitchen.
I started by mashing up half a plantain in a bowl. I cut myself a little piece to eat and was surprised by how sweet it was. I don’t know why I was surprised- I’ve had fried plantains before and they are deliciously sweet when they’re ripe- but for some reason I was expecting a little more bland flavor. As I mashed, I realized they wouldn’t really come out like the little patties I wanted, so I grabbed an egg and cracked it in the bowl and mixed it around. This batter probably would have been just fine, but I decided to throw in some of the leftover quinoa I had from the day before. I scooped out small ladles of the batter onto the fry pan, and to my surprise, it bubbled, like pancakes do. A few minutes on each side, and then they were done! The plantain pancakes stayed together perfectly when I pulled them off the griddle. They were light, moist, and though not quite fluffy like pancakes made with flour, they still had an airiness to them thanks to the quinoa. Slightly sweet from the plantain, you could eat them as is, or add a little maple syrup to really make them pop.
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My first batch wasn’t so photogenic, so I made them again over the weekend so I could get some good photos. This time, I used a whole plantain, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of quinoa. This made about 8 pancakes.
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These turned out much more photogenic. It helps to save a few slices of plantain to fry up as a topping. :-)
Again I added syrup because the plantain + maple combo was dynamite.
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And then, I added some PB and J, because why not?
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OMG. These were amazing! (and prior to adding the gobs of PB, they are pretty darn healthy!) I used PB & Co’s White Chocolate Wonderful (whose jar is now empty because I can eat that thing by the spoonful) and it was the perfect complement to these pancakes. If you haven’t tried this stuff, grab it at the store today!
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The PB gave these a bit more “sticking power” but they’re loaded with protein as is, thanks to that quinoa! Next time you make quinoa, make a little extra to use in these pancakes.
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Believe me this is a recipe you must try! Super simple and incredibly delicious! You won’t regret it!
Recipe:
1 plantain
2 eggs
1/2 cup cooke quinoa
How to:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Scoop 1/4 – 1/3 cup of batter onto a hot griddle. Flip after bubbles start to form and the sides start to cook. Cook through on the other side. Voila!
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