Finn Ní Fhaolain is a Donegal-native who loves to surf and stay fit. She is also a coeliac; meaning she can't digest gluten without getting very ill.
Unlike a mild gluten sensitivity, coeliac disease causes severe illness and discomfort among those afflicted. Some will get sick if their food contains even the smallest trace of gluten.
You can understand why many suffering from coeliac disease might be put off by pancake Tuesday.
Pancakes are traditionally made with plain or self-raising flour, both containing large amounts of gluten.
The good news? Over the years, new recipes and products have been developed specifically so those suffering from coeliac disease can enjoy foods that were once considered gluten-specific.
This also includes new recipes and takes on pancakes - some using gluten-free versions of plain flour, others containing no flour at all.
Here are a few recipes by Finn Ní Fhaolain herself, shared by the Coeliac Society of Ireland.
Ingredients
1 banana 2 eggsA drop of vanilla essenceDirections:
1. Mash the banana well. Beat the eggs and mix well into the banana. If you have a soup blender, give the mixture a quick whizz to get it as smooth as you can.
2. Add a little of the batter to the pan to the size you want.
3. Cook until it is lightly browned underneath and almost set on top. Flip over and cook on the other side. Top with berries, yoghurt or just enjoy as they are.
Ingredients
Dry mix:
240g gluten-free self-rising flour1½ tsp gluten-free baking powder1 tsp ground cinnamonpinch of salt – one twist of a salt grinderWet mix:
240ml milk240ml water2 eggs2 ripe bananas ie brown-looking skincoconut oil or butter for fryingPreparation
1. Pop all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix. If you’re feeling fancy, you can sift them first.
2. In a big jug, lash in the milk and water, crack in the eggs and chuck in the bananas. Blend with a hand blender.
3. Make a well in the dry mix, pour the wet mix in and blend. You should have a runny batter. I don’t add anything sweet, as there are natural sugars in the banana and I’ll probably drown the pancakes in maple syrup later. Pour the batter into a jug.
4. Heat up a good non-stick pan to a medium-high heat. Pancakes can stick to an old crappy pan; this can make you frustrated and lead to your throwing the pan out the window into the back garden – not that I’m admitting I did that, just saying it can happen...
5. To coat the pan, I melt about a tablespoon of oil or butter in it and swirl it around. Then I gently rub the pan down with a piece of kitchen paper, which I’m sure would draw a gasp of horror from most chefs. This blots the excess butter, so your pancakes don’t feel like they were cooked in grease.
6. I do a tester pancake to make sure the pan is hot enough. It should take 30 to 50 seconds for bubbles to form on the top of the pancake. Now flip it over and cook for another 30 to 50 seconds.
7. These pancakes will expand so make them small, ie about two tablespoons of batter each. If you were around in the 90s, these pancakes should look like the ones Sabrina the Teenage Witch kept dreaming about when she had a pancake addiction. You should be able to get about three at a time in a decent-sized pan.
To serve
Serve these pancakes as a stack with a little knob of butter on top, a pile of crispy bacon on the side and drowned in maple syrup.
Coeliac friendly pancake recipes for pancake Tuesday 2020
Know your gluten-free flours
With increased awareness of gluten intolerances and coeliac disease, a range of gluten-free flours are on the market and are more accessible than ever before.
Some larger brands now produce generic gluten-free flours (self-raising and plain), while other types of flour, which are naturally free of gluten, are also becoming more readily available.
Odlums features two gluten-free flours in its range: a gluten-free tritamyl self-raising flour and an organic coconut flour. These can be found in many major supermarkets throughout the country.
If you're looking for a specific type of gluten-free flour, such as Teff or Rice, sometimes it's easiest to find them at your nearest Asian food market (most major towns and cities in Ireland have at least one speciality food market).
Online, you can find an array of gluten-free and alternative flours. Doves Farm Free From Gluten plain and self-raising flour is of great quality. You should note that they won't make very good bread - to make really good bread you need gluten, unfortunately - but for pancakes, gluten is not necessary.
Whichever flour you end up using, we at Irish Country Living wish you a very happy pancake Tuesday! Stay tuned for more delicious gluten-free recipes in this week's print issue.
Finn Ní Fhaolain is a Donegal-native who loves to surf and stay fit. She is also a coeliac; meaning she can't digest gluten without getting very ill.
Unlike a mild gluten sensitivity, coeliac disease causes severe illness and discomfort among those afflicted. Some will get sick if their food contains even the smallest trace of gluten.
You can understand why many suffering from coeliac disease might be put off by pancake Tuesday.
Pancakes are traditionally made with plain or self-raising flour, both containing large amounts of gluten.
The good news? Over the years, new recipes and products have been developed specifically so those suffering from coeliac disease can enjoy foods that were once considered gluten-specific.
This also includes new recipes and takes on pancakes - some using gluten-free versions of plain flour, others containing no flour at all.
Here are a few recipes by Finn Ní Fhaolain herself, shared by the Coeliac Society of Ireland.
Ingredients
1 banana 2 eggsA drop of vanilla essenceDirections:
1. Mash the banana well. Beat the eggs and mix well into the banana. If you have a soup blender, give the mixture a quick whizz to get it as smooth as you can.
2. Add a little of the batter to the pan to the size you want.
3. Cook until it is lightly browned underneath and almost set on top. Flip over and cook on the other side. Top with berries, yoghurt or just enjoy as they are.
Ingredients
Dry mix:
240g gluten-free self-rising flour1½ tsp gluten-free baking powder1 tsp ground cinnamonpinch of salt – one twist of a salt grinderWet mix:
240ml milk240ml water2 eggs2 ripe bananas ie brown-looking skincoconut oil or butter for fryingPreparation
1. Pop all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix. If you’re feeling fancy, you can sift them first.
2. In a big jug, lash in the milk and water, crack in the eggs and chuck in the bananas. Blend with a hand blender.
3. Make a well in the dry mix, pour the wet mix in and blend. You should have a runny batter. I don’t add anything sweet, as there are natural sugars in the banana and I’ll probably drown the pancakes in maple syrup later. Pour the batter into a jug.
4. Heat up a good non-stick pan to a medium-high heat. Pancakes can stick to an old crappy pan; this can make you frustrated and lead to your throwing the pan out the window into the back garden – not that I’m admitting I did that, just saying it can happen...
5. To coat the pan, I melt about a tablespoon of oil or butter in it and swirl it around. Then I gently rub the pan down with a piece of kitchen paper, which I’m sure would draw a gasp of horror from most chefs. This blots the excess butter, so your pancakes don’t feel like they were cooked in grease.
6. I do a tester pancake to make sure the pan is hot enough. It should take 30 to 50 seconds for bubbles to form on the top of the pancake. Now flip it over and cook for another 30 to 50 seconds.
7. These pancakes will expand so make them small, ie about two tablespoons of batter each. If you were around in the 90s, these pancakes should look like the ones Sabrina the Teenage Witch kept dreaming about when she had a pancake addiction. You should be able to get about three at a time in a decent-sized pan.
To serve
Serve these pancakes as a stack with a little knob of butter on top, a pile of crispy bacon on the side and drowned in maple syrup.
Coeliac friendly pancake recipes for pancake Tuesday 2020
Know your gluten-free flours
With increased awareness of gluten intolerances and coeliac disease, a range of gluten-free flours are on the market and are more accessible than ever before.
Some larger brands now produce generic gluten-free flours (self-raising and plain), while other types of flour, which are naturally free of gluten, are also becoming more readily available.
Odlums features two gluten-free flours in its range: a gluten-free tritamyl self-raising flour and an organic coconut flour. These can be found in many major supermarkets throughout the country.
If you're looking for a specific type of gluten-free flour, such as Teff or Rice, sometimes it's easiest to find them at your nearest Asian food market (most major towns and cities in Ireland have at least one speciality food market).
Online, you can find an array of gluten-free and alternative flours. Doves Farm Free From Gluten plain and self-raising flour is of great quality. You should note that they won't make very good bread - to make really good bread you need gluten, unfortunately - but for pancakes, gluten is not necessary.
Whichever flour you end up using, we at Irish Country Living wish you a very happy pancake Tuesday! Stay tuned for more delicious gluten-free recipes in this week's print issue.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: