English spinach and chive pancakes

Deciding what to eat for breakfast is a very serious and frequent topic of discussion in our house. I’m a bit of a savoury fiend myself, but Tess is obsessed with pancakes. And so, as all good couples do, we learned to compromise with this English spinach and chive pancake recipe. This is the ideal comforting breakfast food when it’s too cold for cereal, but you’re sick of eating porridge. Best of all, English spinach is easy to grow and packed with nutrients.

Makes 4 pancakes

Use

2 cups (300 g/10½ oz) spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1½ cups (375 ml/13 fl oz) water

1 egg

½ cup (15 g/½ oz) English spinach, finely chopped

½ cup (25 g/1 oz) finely chopped chives

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Butter, for frying

Lemon wedges, to serve

Do

1	Place the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and slowly pour in the water while stirring with an egg whisk. Once combined, whisk in the egg.
2	Stir in the English spinach, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, salt and cracked pepper.
3	Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Use a ladle to scoop up a portion of the batter and pour it into the frying pan. Fry the pancake for 2–4 minutes or until the mixture starts to bubble. Flip over the pancake carefully and fry the other side for 2 minutes.
4	Remove the pancake from the frying pan and place it onto a piece of paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Repeat the process until all of the pancake batter is used.
5	Serve the pancakes with a few lemon wedges, or a poached egg if you’re really hungry.

Feel free to replace the English spinach with kale if it’s going crazy in the garden.