Cornmeal Pancakes with Cashew Cream and Fruit

This long weekend I made myself a delicious brunch of cornmeal pancakes and cashew cream! I didn’t want to scare anyone off with it in the title, but this recipe is both vegan and gluten free! I am not a vegan, but I do try to experiment with different vegan and gluten free options from time to time.  After experimenting with several different batter recipes, I settled with one similar to Mark Bittman’s Hoecakes with Fruit.

Cornmeal, or polenta is a course flour made from dried corn. It is a low-carb food high in vitamins A and C. It is a great option for those who have gluten allergies or just feel like trying out this whole  new gluten-free craze. I served the pancakes with some cashew cream, raspberries and blueberries, and some real maple syrup. The result was delish!  Try it out sometime!

You will need:

• Instant or Quick  Cooking Polenta/Cornmeal (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil
• Hot water
• Whole, unsalted cashews (a handful)
• Vegetable cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, add about 1 1/2 cups of the polenta and 1 tsp salt.

2. Pour in 1 cup of boiling water and mix. It will begin to clump.  Add 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3 tbsp oil  and 1 tsp lemon juice. Keep stirring. The polenta will absorb the liquid. Keep adding hot water until it is a pourable consistency. Optional: add a tablespoon of sugar if you’d like a sweeter pancake.

3. Heat a pan and spray it with cooking spray. Wait until it is hot enough that water can dance over the pan. Ladle some of the mixture. Wait for one side to brown, slowly peel the pancake away from the pan and flip. The pancakes will be thinner than normal pancakes, and will be more similar to a crepe. Let it cook for a little while on the other side and you’re done!

This batter should comfortably serve 2 people.

Cashew Cream

As previously featured in my Swiss Chard Saag, cashew cream is made by blending cashews with enough water to cover the cashews, until it forms a thick paste. The faster the blender, the creamier the paste. It has an unbelievable sweetness and creaminess, and it is non-dairy!

If you try out this recipe or used any other variations for the batter, please leave a comment or email me at stufftdc@gmail.com. I hope you enjoy and eat till you’re stufft!