vegan gingerbread pancakes with pear compote

Pears have got me in their vice-like grip, and just won't let go. Not that I would want to be free of such delicious bondage. I just love me a juicy, fat bottomed pear, on the right side of squishy. Add ginger to the equation and you may as well shackle me and throw away the key. They're a fixture in my fruit bowl. The only Jelly Belly beans I eat are "Juicy Pear", miles ahead of apples or grapes, they're the one fruit I would eat with any and every cheese, in my wine glass, perry trumps Dom Perignon, and I don't care who's reading this.

Yesterday's breakfast was a plate of the pancakes above with stewed pears instead of the usual syrup. 

Big boy 1 and big boy 2, drawn by the scent of simmering pears came a-sniffing. Within 20 minutes of being served, pancakes and pears were no more and I was chided (by two men who usually give anything vegan the evil eye)for making "only eight". Er.... thanks? This is just a regular, run o' the mill food blog, so I'm free of any dietary constraints when writing my recipes. Why trouble myself then, to cook vegan? Why make them lactose free, when a regular recipe that treads the wide and easy middle-of-the-dietary road, would work fine?  

Some snooping around the cyberhood revealed that special diet blogs and recipes while definitely an increasingly visible presence, are still in the sad minority, or at least, special diet blogs that feature relatable, everyday recipes with simple, everyday ingredients. Deprived vegans? Disgruntled lactophobes? Not on my watch, baby!! It doesn't take much more effort, drastic adjustments or arcane ingredients to make any recipe that isn't meat, egg or dairy centric, vegan friendly. They're easier to cook for (at least in the Western world - I'll qualify this later) then say, the gluten intolerant; gluten is ubiquitous, often hiding in unexpected foods and gluten free substitutes can be prohibitively pricey. It surprises me then, that vegan or lactose free recipes don't appear more often on mainstream food blogs, so our karmic, veggie loving and lactose challenged friends can graze a little wider and freer, and the rest of humanity can gain a few extra (vegan) brownie points with the karma gods.

Full disclosure - I grew up eating very little meat as my grandmother, a survivor of both World Wars, was no stranger to abject poverty. Half a lifetime of deprivation sharpened her improvisational and culinary skills to a keen edge and made her a whiz at turning out ambrosial meals with little more than rice, vegetables, soy products and frugal bits of fish. This was her culinary legacy to us and I remain today, largely a leaf muncher, with the occasional steak or sashimi platter crossing my path. I love cheese and ice cream though, BUT, hubs is lactose intolerant and has trouble with most dairy products. His passion for desserts though keeps me constantly on the prowl for ways to satisfy his sweet tooth, without enraging his tummy.

I'm no stranger then, to a meat free diet and cooking or baking without dairy has become second nature, but I don't always cook vegetarian or dairy-free as my sons must have their meat and still have an almost infantile dependence on milk. So what I post here, reflects the sometimes maddening, but necessary diversity of my dining table. Blessedly, no one has issues with gluten, so I don't cook gluten-free by design, but the wonderful thing about a traditional south east Asian diet, is that it is by default, largely and effortlessly gluten free. In fact, a preference for coconut and soy milk, also makes it a virtual lactose-free zone. Oh, and did I mention that Asian vegetarian cuisine is so highly developed, you could go meatless for a whole week before you realise you're barefoot and need a hair cut ;)

If it's beginning to sound like the Asian diet is damned near the perfect nutritional plan for everyone on the planet, well, I won't argue with that. We love rice, and it totally dominates our diet, relentlessly stomping its way into every nook and cranny of our menus, from starters and snacks, to soup, main course and oh joy, DESSERT!! If you're gluten intolerant then, point your fork east, far east, to be exact. Or, just take a leisurely scroll through the recipes I've already posted, and surprise yourself with the generous number of gluten free goodies you may have missed before. Meanwhile, I'll do my darnedest not to leave anyone out in the cold, and work on making my virtual kitchen a friendlier, more inclusive hangout for all you wonderful foodies, regardless of dietary orientation.

Now if only it were as easy to stop those persistent and mocking hippie references that plague veganism. Ok, so I'm not above the occasional hippie joke, but I am a copy hound, though I try not to hurt anyone, so everything's fair game. Besides, some of my favourite people in the world, were hippies. Make food, not labels, unless, you're a blogger, of course ;) Peace!!

vegan gingerbread pancakes with pear compote

Prep 20 mins       Cook 45 mins       Makes 8 thick saucer sized pancakes

Pears

4 ripe pears (I like Forelle pears, but I used Anjou as Forelles are out of season) 
200 ml (1 cup) perry (pear cider) or unsweetened pear juice
200 ml (1 cup) water
4 tbsp sugar (I used white - don't omit sugar as it gives the sauce body and sheen)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp corn flour mixed to a slurry with 4 tbsp water


Pancakes

400 ml (2 cups) unsweetened soy, rice or almond milk(coconut milk's too heavy)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
3 Tbsp dark molasses
3 Tbsp light vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
200 g (2 cups) plain or all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp fine salt



Peel, core and cut pears into small chunks or thick slices. Combine pears with perry, water, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer gently, partially covered until pears are very tender and liquid has reduced by about a third.

Stir in cornflour slurry and let compote simmer and thicken to ensure corn flour is sufficiently cooked. Turn off heat and keep covered until needed.

To make pancakes, whisk together the milk, vinegar or juice, molasses, oil and vanilla extract and set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix thoroughy with a whisk. Pour liquid mixture into the flour mixture.

Start heating your pancake pan. It should be very well seasoned or non stick, and lightly greased with an oil soaked piece of kitchen paper.

Gently but quickly whisk together the pancake mixture. Do not overmix. Stop mixing the moment everything is combined. It's alright if tiny specks of flour remain, here and there. The batter should be on the thick side, and slightly foamy on top.

Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the moderately hot pan and tilt gently to help batter spread. When the edges look dry, right around (after about 2 minutes) flip over and cook the other side for about 1 minute. Transfer pancakes to a heated plate and keep covered while you cook remaining pancakes.

Serve pancakes topped with pear compote. They don't really need anything else, but a dollop of regular or vegan butter or whipped cream is a very good addition.

click here for printable recipe