Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Spinach pancakes

How does one eat an entire bag of spinach in one sitting?  By turning it into pancakes!  When I saw this recipe I knew I had to give it a try.  I didn't realize I would eat the whole thing at once.  Not sure that was healthy, but I was hungry!  And all that spinach and chia has to be good for me, right?  :)

Okay they kinda look like little squashed aliens... my photography skills need help.

Making this recipe was definitely an exercise in one of those things that you will learn as you go - being able to trust yourself as a chef, trust your instincts, and know the food that you're working with.  These are things you won't have right away - but you *will* gain them.   These did not come out perfect for me, but they came out better than they would have if I had stuck with the way things came out from the recipe without adjusting at all. 

Think - pancakes.  Pancake batter is pretty thin.  The batter I got from this (using whole wheat flour instead of rice because I don't own it, so that could have been my issue) was thick and sticky.  I ended up adding a few tablespoons of water, adding them slowly to try and adjust to the right consistency.  I don't think I added enough in the end, but at least I got closer.  Trust yourself to know what you are looking for - a thinner, pancake batter consistency - and add what you need to get there. 

Other recommendations:
  • I think they could use some salt, just a teaspoon or less added to the mixture with the flour.  Mine didn't have any because I didn't think of it until it was too late, but I would give it a shot.
  • Without the salt for sure, but probably even with it - definitely to serve with something.  The original recipe recommends making them into sandwich "bread", but I think they work as pancakes, just need something to complement them.  I'm thinking a nice fresh salsa of some sort? 
  • Don't be scared of the chia!  This was my first time working with it, and I'm fascinated to try out more recipes that use it. 

2 comments:

  1. Those kind of look like gigantic chips from my vantage point! What's the texture of them like? As for the batter thickness, I've noticed that whole wheat flour sucks up a lot of liquid so I always use extra water/soy milk, and they come out just as good as their white counterparts!

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  2. @Allysia

    The texture is pretty pancake like. :) I'd like to get them to be a little fluffier like pancakes, but that might happen if I got the batter thinner.

    I knew that about whole wheat flour, but I read about rice flour in order to try and make the substitution, and everything said that it also sucks up a lot of extra liquid, so I thought they might end up working similarly... will continue to experiment. :)

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