Gluten Free Citrus Polenta Pancakes

Corn is the most prolific grain in America and is used from petrol pumps (ethanol) to party pies. Native to Central America, corn was barely used until the end of the 15th century when it would become the most utilized crop on the planet to this day.

Here’s a little piece from my book The Healing Feeling about the origins of corn into the diet:

“Pellagra is a malnutrition wasting disease that is caused by a dietary deficiency of niacin (Vitamin B3). It causes skin lesions and can lead to dementia. Pellagra occurred because the corn mush, which was the only food available to the poor, contained niacin, which, without the amino acid tryptophan, could not be released.

Well aware of this amino acid dilemma, the Native Americans and Mexicans provided some significant early examples of health giving food combining. The Native Americans accompanied their corn meals with beans and also soaked their corn in alkalizing solutions of water combined with the ashes of burnt shell and branches. The Mexicans combined their refried beans with corn tortillas. They used lime as a means of releasing the niacin content and this also softened the skin of the kernels making them easier to digest. Thus, the process of food combining has been in full swing for centuries.”

This is a recipe once created especially for Shrove Tuesday, the day that precedes Ash Wednesday that heralds the beginning of Lent. Traditionally it’s Pancake Day, a day to indulge yourself before the dietary restrictions of “Giving it up for Lent”. However it is also a great treat for any holiday or sunny Sunday.

You need:

• ½ cup polenta
• 30 g rice flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup rice milk
• 1 orange, zest and juice
• 30g melted butter
• 1 dessertspoon coconut oil for frying

Method:

• Mix together all dry ingredients
• Beat the egg, then add in the melted butter and milk
• Fold in the dry ingredients. Mix until just blended. Fold in the orange juice and zest
• Allow to rest for 10 minutes before frying
• Melt some coconut oil in a skillet on medium high. Dollop in about 1/2 cup of batter. Wait
• for the bubbles to appear and begin popping, then flip over the pancake
• Cook until browned

Serve with coconut yoghurt and enjoy your gluten free citrus polenta pancakes!