While I was staying with my bestie in Marin this past weekend, she happened to get a package with this curious flour inside that I had heard of a couple times before but never had the chance to try.
Tigernuts
What is a tigernut?
First, it’s not actually a nut – it’s the small, underground tuber of the Cyperus esculentus plant, traditionally cultivated in ancient Egypt.
It’s nutrient profile is rich in fiber, protein, natural sugars, minerals (potassium, calcium, and phosphorus), and vitamins (E and C).
When you google tigernuts, you’ll see a lot of people talking about their “resistant starch” and its health benefits.
Resistant starch is a gut-friendly type of starch that resists digestion (meaning it skips our stomach and small intestine where most other nutrients get absorbed) and reaches our large intestine (colon) where it feeds the friendly gut bacteria.
Resistant starch’s health benefits include improved insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels, reduced appetite and various benefits for digestion – including reducing colon inflammation.
The tigernut itself is a small, sort of knobby looking round guy, about what you’d expect from a dried tuber. The flour is slightly sweet, with a unique flavor. You can use it in place of other flours in gluten free baking.
I made a sweeter pancake based off of the recipe from Organic Gemini’s site for breakfast the first time I tried it (I just left out the sugar, as the flour itself was sweet enough for me).
But once I got the hang of the texture, I wanted to try something else. I can’t wait to try some other recipes with this flour – it lends itself extremely well to baking and plays nicely with other flours. I’ve seen recipes with it combined with coconut flour and almond meal flour online, and I’m sure it works well on its own. I’ll be looking forward to hearing your ideas and recipes!
Savory Tigernut Pancakes
Yield: 4-6 pancakes, depending on size; 2 servings
3/4 cup tigernut flour
1/4 cup almond meal flour
2/3 cups unsweetened coconut milk/almond milk/milk of your choice
2 eggs
- Add all ingredients to your blender or food processor.
- Blend until an even, smooth batter forms.
- Heat a skillet to medium heat, and add oil (I used coconut oil). Pour batter into desired sized pancake.
- Cook until small bubbles form on the surface. Flip and cook until golden.
Toppings:
(for 1 serving – 2 open faced pancakes)
4 slices smoked turkey
1-2 tsp finely diced red onion or shallot
1/3 avocado, chunked
handful of micro greens – fresh herbs (cilantro in particular) or just rough chopped greens would be amazing here as well
1. Divide ingredients evenly on your pancakes and serve.
I have intentionally left this recipe very simple. You could add so many other awesome flavors – but try making it plain the first time so you get a sense of the flavor.
Other ingredients that would be awesome to add to the batter for savory pancakes:
sea salt, fresh or dried herbs especially rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro; paprika, fresh ground pepper, finely diced shallots, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, garlic or onion powder, cumin
Nutrition Facts
Please post any questions, comments or additions you make to this recipe below! Share this recipe and pass on the tigernut goodness!
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References:
Bamishaiye, Eunice et al. “TIGER NUT: AS A PLANT, ITS DERIVATIVES AND BENEFITS.” African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development. September, 2011. Web. http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?nd11060
Gambo, A. and Da’u, A. “TIGER NUT (CYPERUS ESCULENTUS): COMPOSITION, PRODUCTS, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS – A REVIEW” Bayaro Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences. April, 2014. Web. http://www.ajol.info/index.php/bajopas/article/viewFile/106134/96104
Nugent, A.P. “Health properties of resistant starch.” Wiley Online Library. February, 2005. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2005.00481.x/full
