Fluffy Cottage Cheese and Oat Pancakes with Warm Honeyed Berries

Method

1. Step 1: Blitz the rolled oats in a blender or spice grinder for 30–40 seconds, until they collapse into a pale, fine flour with the feel of coarse sand. Tip into a small bowl and set aside.

2. Step 2: Add the cottage cheese, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt to the same blender jug. Blend 45–60 seconds, scraping down the sides once, until the batter is completely smooth and glossy. Any remaining curd flecks will cause the pancakes to tear at the edges, so keep going until it looks like thick pouring cream.

3. Step 3: Add the oat flour back in and pulse 3–4 times, just until combined — overworking makes the pancakes rubbery. Let the batter rest 10 minutes. It will tighten from pourable cream into a soft, spoonable mousse as the oats hydrate; if it stiffens beyond that, loosen with 1 tbsp milk.

4. Step 4: While the batter rests, warm the berries. Toss them with the honey and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for 4–5 minutes (6–7 minutes if frozen), until the fruit slumps and releases a glossy, ruby syrup that coats the back of a spoon. Keep warm over the lowest heat.

5. Step 5: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Ladle 60 ml (1/4 cup) batter per pancake, spreading gently with the back of the ladle. Cook 2.5–3 minutes, until the edges look dry and lacy and bubbles break across the surface without filling back in. Flip and cook 1.5–2 minutes more, until the underside is amber and the centre feels springy to a light press.

6. Step 6: Wipe the pan, add the remaining 1 tsp oil, and repeat with the rest of the batter. You should get 9 pancakes — three per serving. Keep finished pancakes on a plate under a clean tea towel; they stay soft for 10 minutes.

7. Step 7: Stack three pancakes per plate, spoon over the warm berries and their syrup, and add a generous spoonful of Greek yogurt so it slumps down the side of the stack. Serve immediately, while the yogurt is still cold against the hot fruit.