Shrove Tuesday Pancakes: Chef Tom Hunt

Chef Tom Hunt is a bit of a hero of ours. A self-proclaimed big eater, eco chef, food waste activist and now a father.  We follow his recipes, admire his daughter and champion his zero-waste ethics. Stalkerish much?!

Whether a meat eater or not, being endlessly imaginative with vegetables can be hard and finding multiple ways to make them edible for a child can be even harder.  (I understand the problem, I only started eating salad in my 20’s at the point I wondered if I would get scurvy.)  And so, we are constantly on the look out for new ideas and new recipes.

Every Saturday morning I come down to joyful circus of mess; eggs, flour, milk and cinnamon artistically dust the floors.   Pancakes are a weekend staple in our house.  Vegetables a daily staple – at times artfully hidden depending on the toddler’s phase.  However, to date, never a vegetable pancake.  Tom Hunt you genius!

What better day to try than Shrove Tuesday.  We had a glorious time experimenting.  I could see the Toddler appalled that broccoli was cooking, beetroot was roasting and carrots were cut up.  Were those pancakes flipped high to the sky? They were.  Were those pancakes devoured without butter and sugar?  They were.  This is not a recipe to save only for the start of Easter but one that could easily become a weekly treat.

This is Tom’s Recipe, published on the Guardian and Tom’s Instagram.   

Rainbow vegetable pancakes (without artificial colouring)

“Upcycle your kids’ or even your own leftover vegetables into these colourful pancakes, which, unlike most rainbow pancakes, do not contain artificial colourings and are instead packed with nutrients from the pureed vegetables.  Kids love them even when they aren’t especially fond of the incorporated vegetable and, if you use wholegrain flours, they are a great way to introduce them to whole foods.”

Makes About 6 pancakes

150g-plus flour, preferably wholegrain wheat, spelt or emmer wheat
2-4 tbsp mashed brown banana (or 1 egg)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cider vinegar
150ml-plus your choice of milk
2-4 tbsp each of 3 different coloured pureed vegetables
Virgin or light olive oil, for frying

Pour 150g wholegrain flour into a bowl with the mashed brown banana (or an egg), baking powder, cider vinegar and milk. Mix well until no lumps remain, then split the mixture between three different bowls and mix in a different coloured pureed vegetable into each bowl, or just enough to change the colour. Add a touch more flour or liquid, to create a cake mix-like consistency.

Warm a nonstick pan over a medium heat, brush a touch of oil around the inside, then add dessert spoonfuls of batter to the pan, with space between them to allow them to spread out. When the underside starts to brown, flip and cook on the other side for a few minutes, or until it puffs up and is cooked through. Serve warm.

Image courtesy of Chef Tom Hunt. 

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About Tom Hunt

Tom Hunt is an award-winning chef, food writer, climate change activist and author of the new book Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet.   He prioritises people and the environment within his work and believes in a world with a fair global food system where our actions benefit other people and nature. Tom works to protect biodiversity and promote equality by raising awareness about the issues affecting our food system whilst empowering people and businesses to act responsibly through his consultancy, collaborations, food writing, presenting and events.

In response to the global food waste scandal, Tom has developed an holistic approach to food called Root to Fruit Eating that educates and enables everyone from home cooks to industry chefs to tackle climate change through the food they cook and eat.

Eat for pleasure

Eat whole foods

Eat the best food that you can

Tom’s book “Eating for People and the Planet” will be launched in March 2020 and we can’t wait.  And if you can't wait, hit up his award winning restaurant Poco,  100% seasonal and aims to produce zero waste by recycling and composting everything.