Savory pancakes, packed full of good things, make a great dinner
The other day, I was in the mood for something very hearty and healthy for dinner, but because it was a rainy day, I was also in the mood for comfort food. Really, I was in the mood for pancakes. I thought of my own savory pancakes of the past, and remembered some tips from Mark Bittman on some very tasty-looking spinach pancakes. Then I combined the ideas, went a few steps further, and got something a little more extreme.
As it turns out, you can cram just about anything into pancakes, and end up with a tasty dinner. If you know how to make pancakes from scratch, it’s easy to improvise and throw in additional fillings or seasonings – just make sure the batter still holds together. (If you’ve never made pancakes from scratch, grab a book and learn. It’s an invaluable skill and the results are far better than any boxed mix. It’s easy and takes hardly any time. Really!) These weren’t the very best pancakes I’ve ever had, but then they’re in their own league – they were undoubtedly the healthiest, and more than held their own in the taste department. I don’t know the exact proportions, because I was improvising, but what went into these pancakes was approximately:
- 1 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1/4 cup swiss cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tb olive oil
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- dash of pepper, dill, and nutmeg
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Then you just mix up the wet ingredients, mix up the dry ingredients, mix them all together, and cook them up. I pre-cooked the veggies, but I’m not sure it was necessary. This made 6 small (but dense) pancakes, which was slightly more than the two of us could manage. We ate them with plenty of yogurt. This is definitely going to be the direction I go next time I want pancakes for dinner – which, to be honest, is pretty often.
Do you like pancakes for dinner? What’s your favorite way to jazz them up?