08 Feb Spring Onion & Kimchi Pancakes with a Mint Pesto

Let’s chat about gut health, a phrase that has become so popular recently.

Looking after the biodiversity in our guts is one of the best things you can do for your body and, in turn, for your mind. Did you know that not only can your mind affect your gut health, but the health of your gut can actually affect the way you think too. It is a feedback loop, not a one way street. So eating well and practicing good thinking habits are one and the same – to really simplify it.

“Fermented foods introduce additional beneficial flora to the body, which helps bolster our existing colonies. In particular, eating a variety of fermented foods improves the variety of flora living in your gut, which further bolsters gut health. Also, because fermented foods are powerful chelators, which means they draw toxins out of the system, they help detoxify and remove waste more efficiently.” – One Green Planet

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Salt
• ¼ cup kimchi (recipe here)
• 4 scallions/spring onions
• Pinch garlic powder
• Pinch onion powder
  

Mint and asparagus pesto

• 1 cup mint
• 6 asparagus spears 
• ½ cup cashews
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• Salt

Toppings 

• Spring onion
• Coriander
• Mint
• Sesame seeds
  

Method

1. Let’s start with the pesto , this is an easy one – all you have to do is quickly boil your asparagus and then add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. You can add a little extra olive oil or water if you feel it needs some help blending.
2. To make the pancakes you need to mix the flour, water, baking powder and spices together with a whisk. 
3. Slice your spring onion lengthwise and set aside and get your kimchi ready.
4. Place a non stick pan on a medium heat and add a tiny bit of oil – really just a drop of 2.
5. Then pour some pancake batter in and let it coat the bottom of the pan – as soon as it has coated the bottom, push in the spring onions and kimchi and allow to cook only on the one side. As this is gluten free and egg free it doesn’t like to be flipped.
6. It is ready when the top is set and the bottom is a little crispy and brown.
7. You can then add on some pesto and some more fresh spring onion, herbs and sesame seeds!