Perseverance. Patience. Respect. Those were the three virtues that I cultivated while making my spinach pancakes yesterday.
PERSEVERANCE: When I was making the batter, I had to blend the spinach together with other ingredients. I’ve mentioned this before, but my food processor is tiny. Blending 2 1/2 cups of spinach with 1 cup of Greek yogurt in that thing was too much for my processor to handle. I tried to blend the mixture in batches, but that just created a bigger mess.
Then, I remembered that I have a blender! It’s been falling out of favor in my kitchen lately because I find it difficult to mash food in a conventional blender, as the food gets stuck in the bottom quite easily. But with the combination of milk and yogurt in the pancake batter, blending the ingredients together was much easier!
Of course, what I really need is a Vitamix/Blendtec blender. That and a Kitchen Aid standing mixer. A girl can dream . . .
PATIENCE: I don’t make pancakes that often, but whenever I do, I always mess up somewhere. Generally, I use medium-high heat whenever I cook anything. Pancakes, on the other hand, require a bit more patience and TLC. Unless you enjoy eating “well-toasted” pancakes.
I quickly realized that the pan was too hot when the sides of a batch of pancakes turned coffee brown in 1-2 minutes. Oops. Medium-low heat is the way to go.
RESPECT: Respect the pancake! Don’t go shoving a spatula underneath the cakes and flip them over in haste, unless you want pancake lumps.
When I realized the error in my ways, I started to shimmy the spatula gently underneath the pancake until a significant portion was on top of the spatula. Then, I flipped them over. Success! Oil helps with the shimmying, too. I made sure that the pan was coated with cooking spray before cooking the pancakes.
So, there you have it. How cooking pancakes taught me more about perseverance, patience, and respect.
I thought that the pancakes looked pretty good, but the tiny honey bear that I picked up at the farmers market definitely stole the show.
Spinach Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (125g) baby spinach
- 1 cup (227g) non-fat Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup (177ml) unsweetened almond milk (any other milk works also)
- 3/4 cup (115g) finely ground corn meal
- 3/4 cup (110g) chickpea flour (all-purpose or whole wheat flour works also)
- 1 large egg
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 TBS honey, add more if you like sweeter pancakes
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- natural cooking spray
Instructions
- In a food processor or a blender, mix together the spinach, yogurt, and almond milk until smooth.
- Pour the batter into a large mixing bowl, and stir in the rest of the ingredients except the cooking spray.
- Coat one or two pans with cooking spray and place the pan over medium-low heat. I used two pans so that I could cook more pancakes at once.
- Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan for each pancake. A 1/8 cup measuring spoon works very well for this.
- Cook a side for about 2-3 minutes. Once the edges of the pancakes are no longer runny, and you can slide a spatula easily underneath, they’re ready to be flipped. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Enjoy them on their own or serve with some honey or maple syrup.
- Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says
wow … that beautiful bright green.. I am in love! These pancakes look amazing.
Lisa says
Thanks, Angie! I was pleasantly surprised by the green color that the spinach added to the pancakes!
Joanne says
The process of pancake making is definitely always a learning experience for me. I never get them right on the first batch! Love how green and nutrient-stuffed these are!
Lisa says
Thanks, Joanne! I definitely set the ugly ones aside for the “not for photographing” pile when I was making the pancakes.
Bill @thewoksoflife says
I am definitely going to try this recipe Saturday morning. I bought a nutribullet from Costco the last time I was in the US and it way outperforms any other blender or food processor I have used – a poor man’s Vitamix and who needs to blend ipads anyway?
Lisa says
I have been debating getting a Magic Bullet/Nutribullet for the longest time. I might have to do some further investigation the next time I go to Costco. Thanks for the tip, Bill! Let me know how the pancakes turn out and any modifications you made! I’d love to try new flavor combinations.