My today’s recipe for savoury tofu pancakes has been my trusty lunch companion lately. It’s a simple and satisfying dish and I am pretty obsessed by it at the moment so I thought I would share.

I am in the early stages of attempting to do a bit of body recomposition, which essentially is turning fat into muscle and so eating enough protein to achieve this is key.

I eat a wholefood plant based side with plenty of pulses (including tofu, soya milk and the like) and nuts so I thought I would be fine, but once I started putting my food into a food tracking app, I realised that I am not eating enough protein for me to be able to build muscle. Damn.

I will be the first to admit that I used to poo poo all this protein hype only a few years ago, but as I got older and perimenopause has started to kick me hard, I started weight training – which is one of the best things you can do for your long term health as you get older, it makes you feel fantastic and makes you look better too so what’s the catch?! – I realised that I was way too complacent. 55 g of protein won’t do and this is how these savoury tofu pancakes came about, I am trying to move the needle to more like 115 g. It is hard work when you want to stay in deficit and refuse to use protein powders, but I am not giving up.

These savoury protein pancakes have about 30 g if protein per portion (I can easily demolish 3 of these after a gym session) and are really easy and quick to make. I tend to make the filling in advance and fry the pancakes on the day. While I like having mine with mushrooms and spinach, you could incorporate even more protein into the dish but filling them with pulses (like this pepper and chickpea stew) or some kind of tofu filling for double tofu pancakes. I hope you will enjoy knowing that plant protein does your body a lot of good.

Oh and if you like the idea but not the ingredients, there are some other pancake recipes you could try:

Tofu pancakes

Masala potatoes on red lentil pancakes

Red lentil pancakes

Crispy Vietnamese pancakes

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

SILKEN TOFU: Silken tofu, in case you are unsure, is the type of tofu that has a custard-like texture and high water content. It usually comes in a TetraPak and does not require pressing (it is way to fragile to be pressed) although the water it is preserved in needs to be drained away. It is perfect for blending and so that’s what I used to make these savoury tofu pancakes. There are a lot of different brands, but the one I like to use is Clearspring.

BAKING SODA: I used a touch of baking soda to ensure the pancakes cook nicely in the middle.

SALT: I don’t think this ingredient needs any explanation although adjust the amount to your palate.

GARLIC POWDER: A touch of garlic powder improves the taste. I also like to add half a teaspoon of a spice mix I like, roast potato spice mix for example.

CHICKPEA FLOUR: I have tried making these with no flour, but the result wasn’t good. They need a little flour for structure. I used protein rich and naturally gluten-free chickpea flour also known as ‘besan’ or ‘gram’ flour. It’s widely available in the UK supermarkets these days – I pickled mine up from Tesco’s. The recipe will probably work with a different type of flour – rice flour would be my second pick – but I haven’t tried so it may not be exactly a 1:1 replacement.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) MAKE THE FILLING

Make the filling of choice, I tend to have my savoury tofu pancakes with sauteed mushrooms and spinach, dotted with soft cheese (I used my vegan ricotta) and either pickled chilli or dollops of chilli chutney. You can do garlicky cherry tomatoes with some chickpeas and cheese. You can also play with tofu filling if you want even more protein – a variation of the filling for these tacos with perhaps different spices will also work well in my opinion.

2) BLEND PANCAKE BATTER

This step is as easy as you can imagine, simply place all of the batter ingredients in a blender with some water and give them a good whizz. That’s all there is to it.

3) FRY & ENJOY

Although making pancakes appears to be a rudimentary skill, making them well requires a bit of a know-how and practice! The key is a reliable and flat as a pancake ( 😉 ) pan. The pan needs to be well heated up and only then a little bit (I use less than ¼ tsp per pancake) of oil brushed on. Next, goes on the pancake batter and after it’s spread – back of a spoon or ladle is good for this – you must resist temptation to flip it too early. Keep the heat low-medium and be patient, once the edges of the pancake start unsticking themselves from the pan you may be ready to flip, but do check as not the entire pancake may be ready for the move. Once you flip you should be on a straight and narrow. Also, the subsequent pancakes will cook quicker as the pan is getting progressively hotter so you may need to lower the flame a little – you don’t want them to seal too quick as the inside will likely remain raw.