Pancake Supper

What makes a good American breakfast pancake? Fluffy and tall? Dense and moist? Thin and crunchy? Depends who you ask. I don’t have an opinion as me and pancakes we’re not good friends. They don’t like me and as a result I’ve developed an aversion to them too. But there’s a whole world of international pancakes out there, not involving neon syrup, like pa jun, latkes, arepas and crepes. Luckily these savory pancakes do not have a gastro-vendetta for me like their American cousins. I recently made my first okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake. Now, that’s my kind of pancake; shrimp, green onions with a sriracha mayo.

This recipe is for a savory summer pancake. Use it on your plate where your starch normally sits during the colder months. Its provenance comes from my own laziness; germinating sometime when all I had in the house were zucchini and leftover ricotta, which is how many recipes at our house come in to existence.

Zucchini Pancakes with Herbed Ricotta – Makes 6 pancakes

Zucchini Pancakes

2 zucchini shredded

¾ cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ + 2 tablespoons shredded Romano cheese

2 extra large eggs

¼ cup milk

salt + pepper

vegetable oil

Slice off the ends of the zucchini and slice each zucchini into to 3 rounds, place in a colander and salt to remove some moisture, let sit for 20 minutes, rinse, blot dry and shred in a food processor. Combine the flour, cheese and baking powder together. Combine the eggs and the milk and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine, fold in the zucchini. Het enough oil to coat the pan, but not so it pools. Using a 1/3 cup measurement, scoop the batter in to the pan, cook pancakes over a medium heat for 2 minutes per side. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you finish the remaining pancakes, adding oil to the pan if needed.

Herbed Ricotta

¾ cup ricotta

¼ cup mixed herbs (I use whatever I have around, a combination of tarragon, dill, basil, parsley, chives – whatever you like)

1 garlic clove blanched or roasted in the oven, minced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt & pepper

Combine all the ingredients and serve on the side with the pancakes.

Note: I roast or blanch the garlic to mitigate some of the sharp garlic flavor. If you prefer yours strong then by all means omit that step.

Crowd Pleaser

This recipe comes from Dave Lieberman, when he used to have a show on the FoodNetwork. And really, all snideness aside, when the FoodNetwork actually produced shows about cooking. I still, occasionally, watch FN for entertainment, but certainly not for cooking.

Dave called this a St. Louis pancake. Around here we just call it GIANT PANCAKE. Sometimes its presence is summoned by Jim’s kids chanting ‘ giant pancake, giant pancake, GIANT pancake, GIANT PANCAKE!’ I usually make it just as Dave prescribed with a mixed berry topping. It’s a cheap dish to make and a total crowd pleaser, especially for the single digit set. Today I did not have mixed berries, I had 1.5 lbs. of frozen strawberries in the freezer which seemed to go well with the theme of extended, girls only slumber party.

The giant pancake is a single large cake produced, quite easily, in a cast iron skillet (the pan). Then you slice it and serve it like regular cake. It’s always a huge hit with Jim’s kids and today it was certainly a hit with my godkids. They asked that I pass the recipe on to their Mom, who is an excellent cook, we’ll get to her butternut squash recipe in another blog. Aimee if you are reading - ‘ giant pancake, giant pancake, giant pancake!’ Oh and the kids always love to help prepare it. I have to say I was impressed today when I asked my youngest god daughter to mix the eggs and milk, after 2 changes of whisks to meet her satisfaction, she completed the task of and said ‘ I’m done, light yellow, that’s right, isn’t it?’ I’ve never heard it put so simply or perfectly. Light yellow. Out of the mouthes of babes.

G I A N T P A N C A K E !

GIANT PANCAKE - adapted from Dave Lieberman - Serves 5, yes 5

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1.5 lbs. frozen strawberries

4 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 400. Combine the eggs, milk and vanilla in a bowl. In another bowl combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. Combine the dry into the wet ingredients, mix until combined, let rest for 10 minutes. While the batter is resting, place a 10” cast iron skillet in the oven. Put the berries in a pan on medium low heat on the stove top. When they start to thaw and break apart add in the sugar and zest. I like the berries just cooked, so they still have some form to them, but warm. After 10 minutes remove the skillet from the oven, add in the butter and swirl around to completely coat the pan. Then pour in the batter and cook for 15 minutes +/-. It will rise and become golden on top, like any cake, you know it’s done when you stick in a skewer and it comes out clean. Invert the giant pancake on to a large plate or platter, dust with powdered sugar, cut into wedges and serve with berries and maple syrup.