Or, what to make when you feel like embracing other cultures.
I feel like this is a time for pushing beyond familiar boundaries and making yourself aware that other people sometimes have great ideas (hey!), and that you should try them. In this case, the great idea is the yeasted pancake, which I have never, ever tried (even though I have my eye on someone’s – Mark Bittman, maybe? – yeasted waffle recipe to try soon). I have made yeasted breads and buns, but pancakes are a thing of the moment for me, and yeast requires delayed gratification. I love my pancakes with the deep conviction of a weekly childhood pleasure, but I rarely stray too far from my mother’s version. And if I do, it is to add something like ground flax or blueberries to the batter, not to jump ship entirely to a far away land and a savory perspective. Well, friends, let this be a lesson to me.
I first saw these lovelies on Molly Yeh’s excellent site, and this inspired a spate of google research into the humble lachuch (the Yemeni pancake in question). Molly made it sound so easy, so I dove in headfirst, making a few changes to suit my kitchen and ingredients. I didn’t use fenugreek, as is traditional. Instead, I replaced it with a pinch of ground cardamom, because I am obsessed with cardamom at the moment. I made the batter in a mixing bowl, with a whisk and an immersion blender, instead of making the entire thing in a blender. And, (drumroll) there is the quick pickle (see below). Overall, our recipes are pretty similar, and I give full credit to Molly for the entire fantastic experience.
These have the most wonderful texture – lightly crispy on the bottom, chewy and stretchy on the top. I think they would be great as curry eating vehicles, like the Ethiopian injera. (I’ll be trying that soon.) I made three pancakes for our dinner, then refrigerated the batter overnight and made the fourth one for lunch the next day, and everything still worked well in terms of yeast and bubbles and texture. Upshot: this batter will keep in the fridge overnight. It did separate a tiny bit, but I just re-mixed briefly and everything seemed to bubble up just fine.
Meanwhile, this quick carrot and onion pickle is almost as exciting to me as the new yeasty pancakes. I wanted something bright, in both color and flavor, to serve with the little green wonder-cakes, and without really thinking about what I was doing, my hands made a quick pickle. I love it when my hands do great things without having to rely too much on my slow-moving brain. (I was comfort-watching old episodes of Nigella Bites the other day, and she describes dough making as being “in the hands, not in the head” or something like that – and it stuck with me. In the kitchen, my hands are often much more capable than my head.)
I got the seeds of the idea from watching Jamie Oliver (ok, this is my post to talk about TV chefs, apparently) pickle red onions for a salad with effortless outdoor insouciance. I’m not effortless or outdoor, or insouciant either, really, but the idea to quick-pickle red onions is a good one. It makes them easier on the palate and also on the stomach, for some reason. In addition: it turns them a fantastic shade of fuchsia. I urge you to try it. Pro tip from Jamie: enthusiastically scrunch the onions into the vinegar with your hands. It helps the process along.
- For pancakes:
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup each of mint, parsley, and cilantro, chopped
- 2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- oil
- For pickle:
- ¼ red onion, very finely sliced
- 1 small carrot, very finely sliced into matchsticks
- pinch of parsley, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- pinch of sugar
- glug of apple cider vinegar (1-2 tablespoons, depending on how much pickle you make - enough to coat)
- To serve:
- salad, feta, avocado
- For the pancakes:
- add water, yeast, and sugar to a medium bowl with high sides and whisk to combine
- let sit for 5 minutes or so, until the yeast blooms and the mix is foamy on top
- add salt, baking powder, chopped herbs, flour, and cardamom
- blend with an immersion or stick blender until batter is mixed and herbs are at desired size - I went quite small here, but not totally puréed
- leave in a warm place for a couple of hours or so, until batter has doubled and tiny bubbles are visible on the surface
- heat a large skillet (I used both nonstick and cast iron, and both work well) over medium heat - oil skillet very lightly
- pour just less than a cup of batter in pan, and tilt pan to coat entire base with batter
- cook until the pancake bottoms are browned and just crispy and tops are set. you'll know when the pancakes are done, as the batter on the surface changes color (light to dark green) when it's cooked.
- For the pickle:
- scrunch all ingredients in a small bowl and leave to pickle for a few minutes while you make the pancakes.
- To serve:
- top each pancake with salad, a generous amount of pickle, crumbled feta, and avocado. You want a good hit of sour flavor from the pickle here - don't be shy with either pickle or feta.
- Fold over like an omelette or quesadilla, and serve!
Tom Donoghue
February 19, 2017 at 2:56 pmLooks gorgeous!
Laura
February 20, 2017 at 3:56 pmThanks Tom!