On Valentine’s Day, most people go out for a romantic dinner. But, who says that you have to wait all day to have some fun? On February 14th, have a tasty and romantic breakfast with someone that you love.

I made these wholesome and easy-to-digest pancakes with buckwheat flour, applesauce, chia seeds, almond buttermilk and maple sugar. Buckwheat flour is milled from buckwheat, which isn’t a type of wheat or grain; it’s a fruit seed that comes from a flowering plant related to rhubarb and sorrel.

The buckwheat plant is easy to grow and was commonly cultivated by the Acadians, who frequently used buckwheat flour to make buckwheat pancakes and called them: “Les crêpes de bocouitte“.  In French, buckwheat flour is farine de sarrasin.

Today, people with wheat allergies or gluten intolerance often substitute grains with buckwheat. However, even if you don’t follow a gluten-free diet or have allergies, cooking or baking with buckwheat flour instead of white flour is a healthy alternative.

Buckwheat flour is much higher in fiber, protein and essential vitamins and minerals than white flour. It also has a unique nutty flavour that some people may find slightly bitter. But, when blended with sweet ingredients, as in this recipe, the bitterness is easily offset.

Buckwheat pancakes 

Makes 5-6 pancakes

Level: Very easy

Wet ingredients

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce + 1 tbsp ground chia seeds*

1 cup almond milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice

Dry ingredients

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 tbsp maple sugar (or granulated sugar cane)

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

*You can grind chia seeds with a small coffee grinder.

Procedure

1. In a small bowl, mix the applesauce with ground chia and let this sit for 10 minutes to thicken.

2. Add the lemon juice to the almond milk and let this sit for 10 minutes to make vegan buttermilk.

3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. To this, add the applesauce and almond milk and whisk until the dry and wet are combined.

4. On medium-high, heat a skillet lightly greased with vegetable oil or butter. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low.

5. Drop the batter by spoonfuls (1/4 cup for each pancake), tilting the skillet or spreading the batter to form a pancake. It doesn’t have to be perfectly round. Fry for a few minutes – until you see air bubbles at surface and edges turn brown. Flip over with stainless steel spatula and fry the other side for one minute, or so.

Serve with maple syrup.

Have a great Valentine’s Day and I hope you enjoy les crêpes de bocouitte!