Each Sunday, a few friends, Matthew, and I get together for dinner. The menu changes every week—usually, it’s a new recipe Matthew and I have been wanting to try, or one we know is good and feeds a crowd.
([Nerdy] side note: I am currently reading a book called Algorithms to Live By, a reading suggestion from my brother, the computer scientist. I tend to like non-fiction, science-y books of course, and if you do too, you should check out this book. It’s written by a computer scientist/philosopher turned writer (who picked up a graduate degree in English), and a psychologist/statistician who now heads the Computational Cognitive Science lab at Berkeley. The chapter I am on now is about the “explore/exploit” problem, in which you must make a decision to either explore new and unfamiliar options (such as a new recipe, a new restaurant, or a new drug in a clinical study) or to stay with the tried-and-true options (an old standby, a favorite restaurant, the drug that we know works “pretty good”). My favorite part of the chapter explores regret and optimism in making this decision—will you regret not trying something new? Should you be optimistic in the face of the unknown? Interestingly, there is something called an Upper Confidence Bound algorithm that says the best strategy is to be optimistic when facing something new; i.e. be excited to try new things and meet new people, because you never know how good they could be!
In the kitchen, I tend to “exploit” rather than “explore,” especially if I am particularly busy. However, whenever I want something other than my usually eggs for breakfast, I turn to this recipe. I hope it becomes an old standby for you as well!)
This week for Sunday dinner it’s waffles, after a hearty debate last week about which are better: pancakes or waffles. What do you think?
I must say, I’m on Team Pancake. And since the waffle batter our friends are making will not be gluten free, I decided to make my own concoction (a decision which happily aligned with the ripening of a plantain in the back of my pantry): plantain pancakes. I’ve done pancakes before— namely, the two-ingredient version that floated around the internet for a while, banana pancakes—but I’ve found I like this version a lot better. They end up fluffier, and with less of a distinctive banana-y flavor; ripe plantains are sweet, but don’t impart too much flavor otherwise. Plantains are also starchier than bananas, and though you should let them ripen until they become black, they aren’t as mushy as ripe bananas can be. Make sure for this recipe you let the plantain get really black—I usually buy a plantain about a week or two before I actually want to make them.
Also with this recipe it is important to use a blender or a food processor, rather than mashing by hand. I’ve found you get a better texture this way, and blending whips air into the batter that helps it rise.
My favorite way to enjoy these pancakes is with a quick blueberry compote: pour frozen blueberries and a little bit of maple syrup into a saucepan and cook until slightly thickened. I hope you enjoy!
Plantain Pancakes Serves 2 or 3
Ingredients:
1 large plantain, ripened until black
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons milk of choice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Batter should be pourable but thick. If too thin, add a few teaspoons of almond flour until it's the right consistency.
2. Spray pan with coconut oil or another neutral/sweet oil.
3. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into a medium heat pan, cooking 1 to 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned.
4. Enjoy with blueberry compote, chocolate chips, maple syrup, or another topping of choice.