Healthy, French and Gluten-Free

What could be more perfect than healthy, French and gluten-free? Well, the recipes are mostly gluten-free, which is how I eat exactly. So, La Tartine Gourmande, the new cookbook I received for Mother's Day this year is perfect. Her book and blog by the same name are full of beautiful pictures and recipes.

Author/Photographer, Béatrice Peltre grew up in France with a family that enjoyed gardens and food. She has travelled and added to her love for food from other cultures and traditions. She seems to stick close to real food, which is always more healthy.

I absolutely love the recipes I've tried so far and wanted to share this one. My son, who's about to graduate from high school, stayed home long enough to eat breakfast this morning. I tried Peltre's Buttermilk, Lemon, Poppy Seed and Quinoa Pancakes with yummy results.

Makes ten to twelve 4-inch pancakes

1/3 cup white rice flour or sweet rice flour (I just poured some brown rice into my grinder)
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1/3 cup quinoa flakes
1 tablespoons blond cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 pinches of sea salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
2 large eggs, spa rated
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more to cook the pancakes

In a bowl, combine the flours, quinoa flakes, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, a pinch of sea salt, poppy seeds, and the lemon zest.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks (*I confess I didn't read well here and mixed in the whole egg) with the buttermilk. Beat in the lemon extract, if using, and the oil. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of sea salt until soft peaks form. Fold the whites into the batter.

In a frying pan, heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of batter in the pan and repeat for as many pancakes as the pan can hold. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, then flip the pancakes and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden.

Serve the pancakes with warm maple syrup or honey.

*Our pancakes were delicious, but probably would have been lighter if I'd separated the eggs and folded in the whipped whites later as Béatrice suggests.