Green Pancakes with Lime Butter

I've been enjoying watching the world turn green again after the long, snowy winter we had. The big tree out my window is well into leaf now, bringing back all the little birds with their unfamiliar sounds. Sometimes I feel like I live in a tree house when I look out my windows as my place is tiny and up off the ground. It's a cheerful illusion to entertain. The other green that I am enjoying this spring is sprouting in various pots on my windowsill, a variety of herbs including a lemon cilantro I was gifted. I had forgotten how much fun it is to watch things germinate and flourish. I am even attempting to grow green onions and so far so good. I had thought that moving into such a small place would mean I would have to give up the little dream of a kitchen garden that I keep hauling around with me - after all, I hadn't made it happen in a huge house, nor in the smaller condo... but somehow this tiny flat has some  time and room for it. It's always interesting to me how priorities change from place to place and through time even though it's always my life and ostensibly I am in charge of it, marshalling my resources and minutes wherever...

I spent yesterday reading and walking. I got to catch up with a peer from my cohort that I hadn't seen in a few months, which was really great. And then I made dinner for friends, recognizing that I am starting to really live here, that I am not feeling like a transplant anymore. It was a really satisfying realization. Almost as satisfying as the meal. ^_~

This recipe is easily my favourite from Plenty so far. There is something incredibly fresh about it, it's so simple, and the pancakes taste good hot or cold (I had the leftovers direct from the fridge for breakfast this morning; reminds me of a less greasy green onion cake). I am going to try making some and freezing them in an attempt to see if they'll reheat adequately in the microwave so I can have them whenever I'd like without having to heat the flat by frying on the stovetop. I am also tempted to try using the leftover butter in a batch of muffins, perhaps with some finely chopped basil... Yotam suggests serving it with baked sweet potato. I recommend using a non-stick pan to make the pancakes, as my stainless pan gave me some trouble at the beginning, although that may have been due to my lack of metal flipper (a spatula just won't cut it here) and my relative inexperience with stainless pans. Thankfully, one of my dinner guests had the correct implement and lived close enough to dash off and bring it back which made everything easier. Looks like I'll be adding a few new tools to my kitchen fairly quickly so I can keep making these... very worth all investments. ^_^

As usual, all ingredients are as listed in the book and the written description includes my observations and an alterations.

Green Pancakes with Lime Butter
(p. 150, Plenty)

Serves 3-4
(I found it made 19, ~3-4" pancakes)

Lime Butter
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
grated zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chile flakes

Pancakes
1/2 lb (about 8 cups) spinach, washed
3/4 cup self-rising flour*
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
2/3 cup milk
6 medium green onions, finely sliced
2 fresh green chiles, thinly sliced
1 egg white
olive oil for frying

To start: If you need to make your own self-rising flour, mix together 1 cup flour, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Because I didn't want to waste 1/4 cup of the mixed flour, I ended up using a total of 3/4 cup flour, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder, and a generous 1/2 tsp salt for the pancakes in this recipe, which worked well. Also, 8 cups of spinach is the equivalent of 1, 170 g bag of spinach - like the small, pre-washed, ready-to-eat bags or containers you'd find in the salad section of your grocer.

To make the lime butter, assemble your ingredients:

Put the butter in a medium bowl and cream it with a wooden spoon until it's very soft. Mine was still a little frozen and as a result was still a little lumpy, but it still worked out.

Stir the rest of the ingredients into the butter until well combined. I didn't have white pepper, so I used black pepper.

Yotam suggests spooning the mixed butter out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, forming it into a sausage shape and wrapping it in that form for chilling so you can cut coins of butter off it later. This makes for a lovely presentation. I am trying to get away from using excess plastic wrap in the kitchen, so I opted for scraping my butter into a reusable container instead. Perhaps it's less pretty, but it's also a bit less plastic and a bit more protected from the chaos that is my fridge. Chill the butter until firm.

To make the pancakes, assemble the ingredients:

In a large pan, wilt the spinach with a splash of water. When it's fully collapsed and bright green, drain it in a colander and let it cool enough to handle. When you can handle it, squeeze it firmly to remove as much moisture as possible. When it's as wrung out as you can get it, chop it roughly and set it aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, whole egg, melted butter, salt, cumin, and milk and whisk until smooth. Add the green onions, chiles, and spinach and stir, distributing the greens evenly into the batter.

Whisk the egg white into soft peaks and fold it into the batter. This will help give it some lift. 

When the batter is ready, pour a small amount of olive oil into a heavy bottomed frying pan and place on medium-high heat (I found it better to err toward the medium side of things). For each pancake, ladle a bit of batter into the pan and press down on the solids gently. You're aiming for a cake roughly ~3 inches in diameter and 3/8 inch thick. 

Pancakes are ready to flip when lots of bubbles are appearing all over the wet surface of the cake and the edges look firm, roughly 2 minutes. When the cakes are ready, flip them over and give them another 2 minutes on the other side or until you get a good golden-green colour. 

Add more oil to the pan between batches if required and continue frying until all of the batter has been cooked off. Transfer finished cakes to a plate lined with paper towel and keep warm until serving. 

To serve, pile up three warm cakes per person and serve with some of the flavoured butter melted on top of it. 

SO GOOD.