Amaranth pancakes are easy to make and a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. You can achieve many subtle flavor variations with your choice of wet ingredients and oils. For example, buttermilk makes a light, fluffy cake; regular milk tightens the crumb. Doubling the number of eggs lightens the cakes. Using Coconut oil gives your pancakes a lush tropical taste, and using canola oil reduces the taste bigness, making a more suitable breakfast for finicky eaters.
Since the 1970’s, this non-cereal plant has received a lot of attention. The reasons are many: Amaranth grain is packed with amino acids, giving it a uniquely whole protein content. It’s remarkably flexible - the tiny seeds can be cooked, roasted, popped, flaked, or ground into flour. Moreover, some varieties of amaranth leaves are digestible and tasty when cooked, unlike the greenery of many other grains. And there’s decorative value. Late in the summer some types of Amaranth top out at six feet and are capped with brilliant red, yellow, and orange fronds.
Plus, Amaranth has international cachet - and sympathetic history.