Oat Pancakes with Watermelon, Lime & Blueberry Coulis
A couple of weeks ago, my wife headed to the gym for an early morning class, our baby girl was sleeping and there was the perfect opportunity to make breakfast with our son. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast, hoping for him to say something like frittata or bibimbap, but his mind was set on pancakes.
I’m not very good at making pancakes… especially since we moved into the world of gluten-free eating. I did recall having an awesome buckwheat and amaranth pancake when I was in Seattle in July, so I knew a gluten-free breakfast pancake was possible. After a little Googling, we raided the pantry and got to cooking.
We had a great time! Measuring and mixing, pouring and cooking, stacking and syrup-ing… it was what Sunday mornings are all about. Real family time. We were having a ball, until I tasted the pancake and knew something had gone wrong. Either the baking soda was off, or I substituted the wrong flour… whatever it was, those were not good pancakes!
Today’s pancakes were something else! I promise you! The recipe I am sharing with you today is NOT that recipe. My wife and I collaborated to make Sunday breakfast this weekend, she handled the pancakes and I made a fresh fruit coulis with watermelon, lime and fresh berries that we poured over the pancakes in place of a sticky-sweet syrup!
This is one of those breakfasts inspired by a fridge full of fruit that needed to be used. With BBQ fresh on my mind, the idea of grilled watermelon lead me down the path of cooked watermelon. I always like a savory flavor to balance watermelon, perhaps coming from the years in Israel where watermelon and feta cheese are often paired.
Digging around the fridge a little more, I found some berries and some simple syrup from last weekend’s gin and tonics. A dash of salt was all that was needed to tie all of this together.
My wife based her pancakes off of this oat and almond flour pancake recipe and our tag-team approach to breakfast kept the kids entertained, food cooked, and us showered AND out the door before 10.30am on a Sunday morning. It really was a great way to start the day and with a full stomach, we headed to the farmers market to what treats we could find for dinner.
Watermelon, lime and blueberry coulis
- 1/4 watermelon
- Juice of one lime
- 3/4 cup blueberries
- Tablespoon of simple syrup (you could use coconut sugar instead)
- Dash of kosher salt
Here’s how it comes together:
Dice the watermelon and put it in a skillet on medium heat, squeeze the lime juice and allow for the fruit to warm. Put the squeezed lime peel in with the fruit to cook too. Once the fruit has warmed (10 minutes) add the blueberries, simple syrup and salt. Allow to cook for another five minutes.
Once all the fruit is warm, remove half and run through a mixer or vitamix then put it back in the skillet. Keep it warm on a low temperature until ready to pour over your gluten-free pancake feast.
These were really good at the first bite, but has the fruity sauce soaked into the pancakes, they were elevated to another level. My wife tweaked the original pancake recipe to include some pumpkin spice for an early autumnal feel. After breakfast this morning my wife has been crowned pancake queen!
