Whole Grain Pancakes with Pineapple-Ginger Compote

In this monthly series, I commit to cooking whatever is on the cover of Bon Appetit, Saveur or maybe some other food magazine. There’s a reason these particular dishes are on the cover – they’re usually the best recipes in the magazine.

The May issue of Bon Appetit arrived with a huge stack of “Smoky Mountain Griddle Cakes” dripping with syrup on the cover. I just call them “pancakes” in my house, but either way, a big pile of them was in my future.

I don’t really eat a lot of pancakes, to be honest. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m just not a big fan of sweet breakfast – I even make oatmeal and cereal into savory dishes. But every once in a very long while, pancakes for dinner hits the spot. Or, in this case, pancakes in the middle of the afternoon after a long night of bourbon drinking (my friends and I had a cocktail competition that involved drinking a half-dozen bourbon drinks to determine a winner).

While I was planning to top my pancakes with some Michigan-made maple syrup, I also wanted to jazz them up a little bit with some fresh fruit. I made a quick compote with fresh pineapple, fresh ginger, ground cinnamon, and some agave nectar (honey or brown sugar would work just as well).

Yield: 6 servings

Whole Grain Pancakes with Pineapple-Ginger Compote

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Ingredients

For the Whole Grain Pancakes:

• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• Nonstick cooking spray

For the Pineapple-Ginger Compote:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Make Whole Grain Pancakes: In a small bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk and maple syrup. In a large bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, cornmeal, brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; whisk until combined. Add butter; whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. In batches; spray griddle with nonstick spray, then pour batter by 1/3-cupfuls onto griddle. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, make Pineapple-Ginger Compote: Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pineapple and ginger and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until slightly softened, stirring frequently. Stir in agave nectar and cinnamon. Serve pancakes topped with compote and/or maple syrup.