Figgy in the Middle

Fritelle di Fichi, Yogurt & Mandorle

Fig, Yogurt & Almond Pancakes

Time for my Sunday morning breakfast treat again! Or, "How many ways can I think up to make a really indulgent breakfast, based on 1 egg and get away with it?" As repetitive as the method may be, as is always the case with pancakes... the multitude of ways to vary the results is what makes them so much fun! 

Thankfully, being Sicilian, I do not feel the need to have to do the bacon and maple syrup thing every time... which I do really love- don't get me wrong! But there are just so many more colors in my culinary rainbow... I would find it a shame to wear those dark glasses all the time! So take of your shades and check this color... this time around it was figs on my agenda!

2 beautiful figs, picked up at the Frankfurt, Kleinmarkthalle, after a long and strenuous voyage all the way from Puglia in the south of Italy. The figs that is- not me! I just brought them back to my little kitchen so that they could end their existence in a fitting manner and be given the send of they deserved... whilst providing myself with the breakfast i decided that I deserved!

1 fig went into the pancakes, one half went on top of the pancakes... and the other half was my little treat whilst working- plus... I needed to know how good they were of course! On a serious note, it IS important to taste your figs before you go about creating any dish with them- they can vary so much in the amount of sweetness they have. Sometimes you may need to add sweetness, other times, as was the case today, Mother Nature decided to show us what she could do- and gave me these wonderful, incredibly sweet beauties! They needed nothing added at all!

These were ultra-easy to make. I cracked 1 egg into a bowl, added 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 3 tablespoons of yogurt, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a little grated lemon peel and a pinch of salt and whisked it all together to form my batter. I let it mix for 2-3 minutes and let it rest for a further 5-10 minutes. As I already mentioned, the figs I had were SO sweet, that I, for my taste, added no extra sugar at this point... a little honey goes on top too, so I didn't want to overdo it... but otherwise- of course you can feel free to sweeten yours at this point! In the meantime, whilst the batter was resting, I diced one of the figs and added that directly into the batter and cut myself 4 slices to use decoratively on top of the pancakes. 

I prepared some slivered almonds for sprinkling on top, turned on the broiler in my oven, put my frying pan on the stove top with a tiny pat of clarified butter (which I prefer to use for frying, as it does not brown and burn so easily)- and got ready for action!

Each pancake was made from 2 tablespoons of batter. As soon as the base of the batter began to set, I laid the fig slice on top and sprinkled it with slivered almonds. I added a light drizzle of honey and then popped the pancake into the oven and under the broiler to finish off for 2-3 minutes until lightly brown on top... simple! The result was as delicious as it looks... what can I say? Give it a go and then you will know!