Sunday Pancakes with Caramel Nectarine Compote

Posted by on Aug 31, 2014 in Kitchen, Our Travelling Kitchen | 2 Comments

sunday pancakes

Somedays, you just want pancakes. 

Especially after being on the road for several months, exciting your palate with new flavours, unknown spices and foreign textures; there are mornings where you simply crave good ole’ comfort food. Missing our sunday brunches at home, these pancakes are capable of transporting us right there or good enough to trick your body into thinking it was sitting in a Williamsburg diner. 

In an era of gluten-free, vegan, multigrain pancakes, sometimes you just want that classic stack. I have been using this recipe for years, based on a simple one I found on AllRecipes.com a long time ago. It never fails me. 

Pancakes are also a relatively easy thing to reproduce anywhere. Eggs, flour and milk are not too difficult to pick up in most places around the world and all you need once again is a bowl and a frying pan. The only trick to this recipe is the combination of baking soda and baking powder that make them light and airy. And that, is not easy to find in most places. 

Since the beginning of our journey, I have been carrying a little ziplock bag with limited things I have refused to dispose off since the last time we had a kitchen. I have miniature packets of baking soda and powder from Greece, ground cinnamon from Iran, vegetable stock cubes from somewhere in Turkey, sugar cubes from tea offered on buses and a mixture of salt and black pepper I keep topping up everywhere I can.  

I haven’t been able to use an oven since Greece where we were able to bake carrot cake and lemon loaves, but I will not part ways with my survival bag since where there is no oven, there are pancakes! 

white nectarines

nectarine slice

When it comes to topping them, you can use pretty much anything you want, the low sugar content means that we were able to garnish our leftovers with melted cheese. We initially wanted to make a strawberry coulis, having picked up luscious honeyed baby strawberries from a guy selling on the Bishkek street the other day. Alas, we did not find them again, but we discovered the delicate white nectarines of Kyrgyzstan instead. 

A summer fruit, the white nectarine is less acidic than the yellow nectarine, it doesn’t punch you in the palate with a strong scent, but has a more subtle undertone of sweet notes, making it one of the most elegant fruits for dessert.  

This compote goes really well with pancakes and crème fraîche, but if you want to double or triple the quantity of the recipe, it would be just as great an addition to plain yoghurt or toast.

compote


SUNDAY PANCAKES with CARAMEL NECTARINE COMPOTE  \ˌpænkeks kɛrəməl nectarine kɑmpot\

Serves 2

For the Caramel Nectarine Compote

6 white nectarines
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp muscovado sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
crème fraîche to serve

For the Pancakes

3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp melted salted butter

For the Caramel Nectarine Compote 

Wash and slice the white nectarines into segments and toss with the muscovado sugar. 

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom pan until it begins to lightly brown and smell nutty, then add in the nectarines and stir gently until the butter and the juices blend. Let the fruit simmer for a while over medium heat before stirring again, it is fine if they start browning a little or what seems like a slight burn, that is the texture we are going for. When the sauce starts to thicken a little add the lemon juice and stir gently until you get a light caramel colour. 

When the nectarines are soft and the consistency of the sauce becomes syrupy and thicker, your compote is ready. 

nectarine bubbles

lemon

browning

For the Pancakes

Pour the lemon juice or white vinegar into your milk and set aside for at least 5 minutes. You can also do this before you begin preparing everything else giving it ample time to sit. We want it to curdle a little, you could also replace the same amount with buttermilk. 

Add the egg to the melted butter and mix till smooth. 

Mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add the egg mixture to the buttermilk and stir, then add in all the dry ingredients and beat with a fork until smooth and all the lumps have disappeared. 

Let the batter sit for 5 minutes while you prepare your pan. Use a non-stick pan or add some butter to melt before you drop in your batter. The pan should be relatively hot for the first few pancakes as you want them to set and maintain their shape.

Using a spoon or laddle, drop in the amount of batter you want depending on your preferred pancake size and let it cook on one side until bubbles start to appear on the surface. Flip them over with a spatula until both sides are cooked. 

Build your pancake stack, top with nectarine compote and finish it off with a dollop of crème fraîche. Happy Sundays! 

flippin pancakes

2 Comments

  1. ele
    September 16, 2014

    mhhhh 🙂 I wish you can prepare them for me! We are going to try and let u know! love cinesina!

    Reply
    • Nico & Gabi
      September 22, 2014

      Perfect! Send me a photo of your pancakes! Baci x

      Reply

Leave a Reply