Red Beet Pancakes with Sweet Grape Sauce

My family loves beets and I cook them quite often. In my recipe box I got "Roasted beets", "Whole Wheat Linguine with Roasted Beet Puree", "Pickled beets" and variety of soups with beets. When I got up today, I was completely out of ideas of what to cook. After doing some inventory of my fridge I found 3 pretty good looking beets and put them immediately into the oven to roast. While they were roasting, I have checked my email, read some news and decided to prepare healthy lunch with a twist :) What can I say...? It came out delicious! Rustic and earthy pancakes with light and sweet grape wine sauce. My husband had three of these beauties, and they are not little pancakes :) Don't believe me? Try it! You will thank me later. Have a beautiful Friday and an amazing weekend, my dear readers!



This pancake batter combines all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, and a quinoa flour that has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor and firm texture. A warm sauce made from fresh grapes adds the perfect finishing touch.

Ingredients:

For the roasted beets:

• 2-3 small red beets, cleaned from leaves and stalks removed
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup of water

For the pancake batter:

• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 2 eggs

For the grape sauce:

• 2 cups dark grapes
• 1 Tbsp. agave syrup or honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2/3 cup white wine

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the beets in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Mix with the olive oil and water. Cover with foil. Bake until the beets are tender through, about 1 hour. Let cool. Peel the beets and cut into chunks. Add to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process to a rough puree. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the grapes, agave syrup or honey, cinnamon and wine. Bring to a simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes. Keep it warm until ready to use.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until well blended. In another bowl mix together the beet puree, milk, yogurt and eggs.

Add the egg-beet mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.

Cook the pancakes using a 10-inch cast-iron pan. Rub the pan with butter. Cook until the edges are set and bubbles appear in the center of the pancake, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, carefully flip the pancakes and cook on the other side until golden, about 1 minute more.

Serve warm with grape sauce and whipped cream.