I've been playing around with green onion pancakes. I was watching Rachael Ray while using the treadmill at the Y. She prepared green onion fritters to serve with a steak dinner. My curiosity was raised about the idea of green onions mixed with a batter vs. deep fried fritters. I'm not about to deep fry anything, but thought about making pancakes. There is a local restaurant, The New Orleans Cafe, in Pioneer Square in Seattle that serves cornmeal pancakes as the bread thing. So I thought, why not combine the two ideas? So I mixed up a small trial batch. I liked them and Mark was a "beta" tester. We both thought the recipe needed a few adjustments. I used a buttermilk pancake recipe to start. The second batch, I eliminated all the sugar and added more salt and pepper. Better. The third time, I added some shredded parmesan cheese. Couldn't really taste the cheese. I may need more. Next time, I'm going to try a Greek twist by adding oregano and feta cheese. I think a stronger tasting cheese is best to minimize the calories and fat but maximize the flavor. Always looking for lower calorie high taste outcomes.
I love pancakes but seldom eat them due to the added butter and syrup. But these need no syrup, of course, and butter is optional. While I made my pancakes from scratch, pancake mix would work just fine.
Green Onion Pancakes
1 c. white flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 T. olive oil
1 bunch green onions, white and green portion cut into one inch lengths
1/4 to 1/3 c. shredded parmesan cheese
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir together to mix. Combine egg, buttermilk and olive oil. Stir into the flour mixture just until the flour is moistened. Lumps are okay. Fold in the green onions and cheese. The less stirring the better to keep the gluten in the flour from getting elastic and tough. If you don't have buttermilk, put 1 T. white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to measure one cup. Stir and let stand for five minutes. Proceed per the recipe. This is the age-old substitute for buttermilk.
Lightly grease a skillet and heat to medium. Use about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Turn the pancake when bubbles appear and break around the edges. Makes 10 four inch pancakes. Nutritional information per pancake: Calories 85, Protein 4 grms, Carbohydrate 10 grms, Fat 3 grms.
If you are game to try this, I would love to hear your feedback!
