Who doesn’t like pancake on a lazy Sunday morning? The smell and the taste of the pancake literally make me wake up with a smile. My kids love sweet potato pancakes (see my prior posting). But then I have seen these two apples laying on the countertop for days. I decided to make a twist..
ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup instant cooking oats (notes)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon and pinch of nutmeg or spice of your preference
1 1/2 cup water or liquid of your preference
2 mid-size apples
pecans just handful (optional)
oil of your preference for pan frying
In a bowl, combine flour, oats, chia seeds if using, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour in the water and let the mixture rest. Roughly chop pecans and roast in a small nonstick pan under low heat. shred apples (I got a bit over 2 cups). Then, fold in apples in the flour mixture, and set aside the roasted pecans. In the same nonstick pan, drop the mixture of your preferred size and pan fry it like making any pancakes. They were more like apple hash^^. Last but not the least, sprinkle the pecans on the top and serve with honey or maple syrup.
Note:
I used coarsely ground buckwheat flour from a local farm. So it’s almost black color. You can use arrowhead mills buckwheat flour. They are lighter in color.
You can use oat flour instead of quick cooking oats. Also feel free to add in your preferred nuts and/or dried fruit. But you may need to adjust the liquid a little bit more or less.
One thing I like about yam is that it’s so versatile. It could be a savory main dish, a quick breakfast, a healthy dessert, or a filling snack. I always throw in 2 small yams on the grill or in the oven when I bake. After they cool down, I mesh them with a fork (if not chared, keep the skin for extra fiber) in the 2 cup size glass container, and keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
As to the pancake, I personally don’t like to figure out those unknown ingredients listed on the store sold pre-mix. Neither do I use more than 10 ingredients in one recipe. After all, I am a homecook. I don’t have a pantry stocked with different spices and/or ingredients. So here I am sharing a quick fix.
Ingredients:
2 cups of roasted yam (see note 1)
1 1/3 cups of buckwheat flour (see note 2)
2/3 cups of oat flour or cornmeal (or whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour if not gluten free)
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
2 cups of filtered water
I/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg and salt (optional)
If I remembered, I soaked chia seeds with water in the glass container in the refrigerator the night before (for better digestion). If not, mix well all the ingredients in a big bowl and let the batter rest until chia seeds swell. You may add more water to the desired thickness of the batter.
Yam buckwheat pancake batter
I use avocado oil (or oil of your choice) for making these pancakes. Again, I like to eat mine plain. I can taste the sweetness of the roasted yum, the nutty flavor of buckwheat, the cinnamon and the nutmeg, and the crunchiness of cornmeal if using hodgsonmill). But my kids like to eat them with couple drips of maple syrup or honey. Of course, you can add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and/or 1 egg for fluffier pancakes. You can also use milk of your choice instead of water.
Yam buckwheat pancake with cornmeal and chia seeds
note 1: You will need more liquid if using Korean sweet potatoes and/ or purple yam sold in Asian markets. They are so sweet after roasted. I guarantee that you won’t need any syrup or honey.
Purple yam buckwheat pancake with oat flour
Note 2: arrowhead mills have very fine buckwheat and cornmeal. But I have soaked whole buckwheat overnight in the refrigerator and puréed them in the blender the next morning. I also buy organic rolled oats and make oat flour in the food processor.
Face it. It’s a cool and cloudy Saturday afternoon. Who doesn’t want to lazy around especially that kids just finished the school? I was in no mood to cook at lunch time. So I was delighted to see the leftover scallion pancake dough inside the refrigerator.
Long story short, my daughter’s teacher asked me on Tuesday to make something for the class party on Wednesday. Especially after I made California rolls for kids last time, she implied something more than cookies or muffins… So I suggested scallion pancakes and she seemed to like the idea. But I caved in this time by using all purpose flour as there are couple picky eaters in her class. Even with all purpose flour, I swapped 2-3 tablespoon flaxseeds to boost the fiber.
Ingredients:
6 cups of flour (see note)
1 teaspoon salt (or more to your preference)
2 cups of hot broiling water
3 stalks of scallion
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (or oil of your choice) and more for frying
1. Mix the flour and salt in a big bowl
2. Pour in broiling water with one hand while stirring the mixture with the chopstick with another hand (I found it easier). When it’s cool enough to handle, knead the dough until it is smooth.
3. Let the dough rest at least 30 minutes or until you gently press the dough with your thumb and it springs back.
4. While the dough is resting, chop scallions and mix in 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil.
5. Once the dough is ready, divide them in 8 pieces and roll them in balls (I am making big ones in order to get 8 slices per pancake).
The dough after resting
6. Roll each ball out on the floured work surface, scatter scallion evenly, then roll up jelly roll style, and spiral up like a snail shell.
7. At this point, you can either let the dough rest a bit more or roll them out flat and pan-fry each side for about 2 minutes under medium heat. Dust the rest spiraled balls with flour, wrap with BPA free cling wrap individually, and store them in the glass container inside the refrigerator for up to a week.
Scallion pancakes
When I picked up my daughter after school that day, she was smiling from ear to ear and said “All my friends ate the scallion pancake.”
As to serving suggestions, I like to eat mine plain, or use it as a wrap and roll up with organic mixed greens. I have also poured some mixed egg in the pan and put the scallion pancake on the top. Last but not the least, I have pan-fried them without oil under high heat (about 1 minute each side but constant swirling), cut them in small slices, and serve with salsa. The choices are yours. Make it as a weekend project and you will be rewarded with some serious good eats:-).
scallion pancake wrap with mixed greensScallion pancake with eggScallion pancake served with salsa
Note: You will need more water if using whole wheat flour. I normally made the scallion pancake with whole wheat flour (king author and arrowhead mills) and always swapped couple tablespoons flaxseed (whole or grounded). If the dough is too dry, add more water (1 teaspoon a time).
I don’t know about you. But every time I go to new supermarkets, I take my time wandering around every aisle, and see what they are offering. It’s like exploring a different world. And I get all cheered up:-). That’s how I picked up a bag of peeled split mung beans in Hmart. This also reminded me our trip to Seoul in November 2013. Mung bean pancake is one of the popular snacks sold in the market (see picture). My kids were amazed at how the lady made the bean paste and pan-fried them (very oily to my standard) in front of us.
Vendor selling the mung bean pancake
Back to the pancake, I normally rinsed 2 cups of beans and soaked them with just enough water to cover them in the morning. By noon, I puréed them in the blender. Then, I added chopped kimchi (store-bought for now), a handful of organic frozen mixed vegetables (from Costco), and salt & pepper, and pan-fried them 3 to 5 minutes each side depending on the size of the pancake.
Store bought kimchi and soaked mung beansMung bean pancake
Mung bean pancake:
2 cups of peeled split mung beans, rinsed and covered with enough water.
Soaked for 3 hours or longer, blended to smooth, added salt and pepper to your taste, and mixed in your add-ins: kimchi, frozen mixed vegetables, bean sprouts (blanch them first), scallion, any kind of meat, seafood, etc.
Pan-fry them just like making the pancake. Last but not the least, drops of frank hot sauce (just me^^) or any dipping sauce of your choice. Do give it a try and enjoy a gluten-free and a vegan or savory meal.
ethanlillian 