For some reason, Mr I-don't-have-a-sweet-tooth* has been reminiscing about sweet things a bit recently.When he told me about the butternut squash fritters, redolent of cinnamon, that his grandmother used to make, I thought they sounded wonderful.
He was heading off fishing for the day, so I thought he needed a pretty substantial breakfast, and I had the necessary, so I whipped them up. The baking of the butternut is the only thing that takes any time, the rest takes about 3 minutes to throw together.
Butternut Fritters
1/2 large butternut squash
1tbs demerara sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
1 egg
1tbs vanilla extract
milk
1tsp ground cinnamon
oil for frying
Put the half butternut squash in a 180C oven for about 45 minutes or until tender but not browned. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh into a bowl with a spoon. Add the sugar and mash with a fork (the granular sugar helps break it up into a puree). You'll end up with about 1 1/2 cups of butternut puree.
Stir in a cup of self-raising flour, then a beaten egg, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Gradually stir in enough milk to make a thick batter.
Heat a pan. Add a small slurp of oil. Fry the batter into pancakes - I found that about 1 1/2tbs made a good, thick pancake and fit 3 to the pan. When large bubbles form on the surface it's time to turn them with a palette knife. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
Serve hot with maple syrup and a sprinkle more cinnamon. Makes 12 - which for us serves 2.
* Mr I-don't-have-a-sweet-tooth says it is unfair for me to begin a post in such a manner. But it is a statement of fact so I refuse to retract.
15 comments:
Wow! They sound fantasic, like pumpkin pie and pankcakes in one tasty bite! Would they be the sort of pancake that goes well with bacon - or is it best to leave delicious enough alone?
what is it with these Mr "I-don't-have-a-sweet-tooth"s? Who are they kidding?
Aw yum! For some reason I have a real thing for cakes/sweet things which secretly have vegetables in them. These sound so good - not a concept that I've ever thought of before. Will have to give them a go at some stage :D
HH - I felt that they would go very well with a side of bacon!
Mother - I know.
Laura - I wonder if they would work with beetroot?
What a great twist on traditional pancakes! I love your idea of pairing them with bacon, perfect!
Sounds like a perfect pancake for fall
These would also be great as a bread serving at dinner with just a spread of sweet butter.
Absolutely going to give them a try. Thanks...
Natashya - they were delicious! South African food offers some very good dishes.
Kat - something to use up all the halloween pumpkins.
George - they are a bit too tender for that I think. You'd need to add more flour to make them a bit more stable.
I have a butternut squash in the fridge and how a delicious recipe to use. I'm guessing these would make a lovely side dish. I'm going to try to lighten them up a bit and serve them with my turkey sloppy joes.
I love butternut. I was just thinking about pumpkin fritters, but may have to change them to butternut.
Arlene - one day I will try sloppy joes!
Esi - it's so much easier to cut than a pumpkin.
So why are these called fritters and not pancakes? A rose by any name... I'm definitely going to integrate some pumpkin into my pancakes this weekend! Thanks.
Can I send my kids over for some of this? They would just love some!! I would too but I'm just using my kids as an excuse to come over...
Dee - I have no idea. WHen he first told me about them I was assuming they'd be like rosti, grated raw butternut fried in patties. Then he explained it and I was "but that's a pikelet!"
Dharm - yes, you and the Dharmlets can come for brunch!
Gorgeous and perfect for fall!
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