Brunch on Saturday: Mix up pancakes with crunchy fruit and indulge in duck

This week in Saturday Brunch, make buckwheat pancakes with passion fruit and banana, or dine out on dish of confit duck

Just because it’s the healthier option, doesn’t mean it can’t be just as sweet

Brunching in...

Buckwheat, banana and passion fruit pancakes

Deena Kakaya shares her great recipe for light, fluffy buckwheat pancakes, served with delicious fresh fruit as a substitute for a normally sugary breakfast. The perfect start to the day.

One of the things I find hardest to stick to in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is just getting enough sleep. So I asked my husband to give my boy breakfast, whilst I sleepily addressed the very important matter of what my body was craving. Unlike days of care-free eating in the past, my body is now giving me warning signals (as well as my doctor) and though weight isn’t the challenge here, my family has a history of diabetes and I cannot fight the genes with sugar and win.

I had never really seriously considered buckwheat pancakes as an alternative to the plain flour version; the healthy option isn’t usually as tasty is it? Well, let me tell you my friends, these are so fluffy and light that I had to share the recipe with you. They are moist and airy, not gritty or clumpy at all so don’t worry on that front; I didn’t add any sugar but you could if you really wanted to. The banana is chopped into small pieces rather than mashed to avoid making them heavy and the passion… it comes through. I used pure maple syrup on top, but just a few drops.

100g of buckwheat flour
1 large egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 banana, very ripe, chopped into small pieces
2 passion fruits
rapeseed oil
200ml of whole milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix together the buckwheat flour, ground cinnamon and baking powder. Add the egg, milk and passion fruit to make a batter and then add the chopped banana pieces to the batter. Add a couple of teaspoons of oil to a non-stick pan and once the oil is hot, place a couple of tablespoons of batter onto the pan and cook them for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are lightly golden. Serve the pancakes with more passion fruit and a little maple syrup, if you wish.

This recipe is from The Great British Chefs’ website. For more recipes, visit the website greatbritishchefs.com

Brunching out...

Apero is part of the Amerpsand Hotel in Kensington

Blink and you’ll miss Apero; this small subterranean restaurant-cocktail bar is attached to the Ampersand hotel and neatly tucked away on the Harrow Road, a stones throw away from South Kensington tube station. The mahogany seating, white tiled cellar walls, and bare brick nooks make for a simple but elegant brunch stop before exploring the areas museums.

The restaurant is named after the hour before dinner, when Italians partake in a pre-dinner cocktail – usually a Campari spritz. True to its name, brunch begins with the choice of either an Aperol spritz or the classic Bloody Mary cocktail. Brunch is served between 11.30am and 2.30pm, and options range from the time-honoured full English; to the Mediterranean inspired avocado, feta, olive, chorizo and poached egg on sourdough bread; to the downright gluttonous confit duck hash and duck egg. There is a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu and everything is helpfully labelled with an allergy guide for the discerning eater.

The confit duck hash brown, served with a duck egg on top, £9 (Amy Murrell)

There is also a simple kids brunch menu, if on a family day out. Despite it seeming a tad excessive to have dessert with brunch, the post meal sweet turned out to be Apero’s strong hand. The Apero tiramisu was the perfect mix of sumptuous cream, a firm coffee centre and a moist but crunchy base. If we needed anymore proof our Italian waitress confirmed it was her favourite item on the menu.

Come for fine West London dining without pretension, or the cost. For two a cocktail, main and dessert came to just over £50.

Apero, 2 Harrington road, London SW7 3ER; 0207 591 4410

Words by Kirsty Major