Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

If you like your pancakes light and fluffy, overnight-soaked oats are probably not the way to go with your batter. But if you like thick, wholesome and nourishing pancakes, these banana oatmeal pancakes are warm, moist and tasty little parcels of all the many vitamin, mineral, soluble fat, fibre and protein benefits of soaked oats.

Banana oatmeal pancakes

3/4 cup rolled or steel-cut oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup yogurt
1 cup spring water
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 large egg
2 bananas

Stir the oats and flour into the yogurt and water in a large mixing bowl and leave to soak overnight at room temperature. In the morning when you're ready to make the pancakes, stir in the baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Break the egg and combine the peeled bananas into the mixture with a potato masher until well blended but slightly lumpy.

Lightly butter a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan and warm up on medium-low heat. At the same time, preheat an oven to 175°.

Drop in a quarter-cup of the batter for each pancake and fry for a couple of minutes before turning over and frying on the other side until the pancakes are golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and place on a plate in the oven to keep warm until all the batter's been used up for pancakes.

Serve the pancakes warm and pour over them some pure maple syrup. Add a little butter if you like, and slices of banana.

Makes about 12 four-inch pancakes.