Monday, September 14, 2009

Zucchini and Spinach Pancakes

Continuing on the eternal theme of reinventing classic food with a healthier bent, I was interested by the idea of melding vegetables and pancakes after seeing a recipe in one of my cookbooks. Originally I had planned on making zucchini fritters, which are quite popular and similar to crab or salmon cakes. However when I saw how much oil was involved, I thought - what a way to kill the benefits of the veg! I ended up melding spinach and zucchini to procure something entirely different, and equally delicious IMO. By using chickpea flour it's not only gluten-free, the entire batch (2 generous servings) uses less than 1/4 cup of olive oil.

To serve, I made a balsamic salsa the first day. The second day I spread these savoury pancakes with Philadelphia cream cheese..yumm.

Zucchini and Spinach Pancakes
Pancakes
1 medium zucchini
3/4 cup fresh spinach
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup chickpea flour
garlic powder
salt and pepper
nutmeg
2 T olive oil





Salsa dressing:
1 medium tomato
1/2 onion
2 - 3 t olive oil
2 t apple cider vinegar
1 t herbes de provence

  • Grate the zucchini into a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Using a spatula, press to squeeze out excess water and allow to drain for a little while. Meanwhile, chop the spinach into thin strands. Add grated zucchini and chopped spinach to a medium bowl.

  • In a smaller bowl, beat together the eggs (FYI I had the yolk left over from a prior recipe and am useless at making my own mayo) with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add to the vegetables.

  • Slowly whisk in the 1/2 of chickpea flour - thoroughly! Chickpea flour requires extra whisking. Allow the batter to sit for roughly 20 minutes.

  • Meanwhile, prepare the salsa by chopping the tomato and onions. Mix with the remaining ingredients (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, herbes de provence) and chill.

  • When ready for the first batch, heat a teaspoon of oil and drop a tablespoon of the batter into the pan for each pancake. I did a couple at a time. Allow to cook for a few minutes on one side (less time as your pan heats up), and then flip for about one more minute.


  • Remove onto a paper towel and keep warm. Continue until you run out (I made 8 largish veggie pancakes.

  • Top with salsa and serve.


I look forward to adding more vegetables, such as onion, red bell peppers or perhaps a handful grated carrots. The salsa was delicious touch, and as they were not greasy at all I topped the the pancakes with a dollop of plain yogurt.

As a plus, all the protein was terrific brain food when I got to work :)

2 comments:

  1. What a unique idea! Just when I think "Everything has been done--just like book topics" something wows me. Since I've penned books on olive oil and vinegar, am mostly a vegan, your post tickled my fancy. Brilliant! I'd love for you to Follow my blog (enter the pie and chocolate contests!)-- look forward to seeing you. Put up a Contact?

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  2. These look great! Thanks so much for your comment on my blog. Of course I'm happy for you to link to the recipe (with credit to me and the blog, of course) :)

    I think your own recipe for Carrot Apple Quinoa muffins sounds spectacular as well! Look forward to trying it, and to reading more of your blog.

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