Flipping great: veggie pancakes

Anyone who cooks is always looking for "something new" to put on the plate. I hear this from people in connection with the starch element of a plate most often. Potatoes are wonderful, so is rice , so is couscous, and so is pasta. But whither next?

I suggest these little pancakes. I don't know if calling them "pancakes" is the right thing to do, because there's the immediate connection with breakfast and syrup and that kind of thing. But you do fry them, just like pancakes, and if you're like me, you could eat as many of them as you could pancakes - and that's a lot.

This is a recipe I found in a spice catalog, and it was for zucchini. Well and good, but I made them with leeks, and that's how I'll present it. Leeks are one of my favorite vegetables, and one of the most overlooked members of the vegetable family. They are mild, so if you want something spicier, you can add some onions, or whatever you like.

While it's not all that true anymore, leeks can be dirty. They grow underground, and the dirt can get into the layers of the vegetable. So what you do is cut off the dark green stuff at the top, and you have to either use it in soup or toss it. Then make vertical cuts, without going through the base of the vegetable. You can now spread it out, and let water get in to clean it up. Then slice them thinly. When you have about a cup and a half, sautee them in equal amounts of unsalted butter and olive oil, with a bit of salt, until they're soft. Put them aside, and let them cool.

Now make a pancake batter. This one has a cup of flour, two eggs, a half cup of whole milk and a teaspoon of baking powder and one of salt. Mix that all up, and then stir in your leeks. You'll have a thick batter, which you can spoon onto a hot, greased pan. Go for smaller rather than bigger here. (If you have a griddle, GREAT). The batter will begin firming up almost immediately. Common wisdom says to wait until you see bubbles form and break on the top of the pancake before you flip them. In my experience, this results in a very dark pancake. If you like that, by all means. If you like a lighter taste, check after two minutes and see if the batter has formed a crust of a color that you like. If it has, get a paddle and flip them. This is not so easy, but with practice, it's not that hard. Let the cakes cook for maybe the same length of time for the first side. Check one by tearing it open to see if it's cooked through to the center. That's the "gift" to the cook. Cook some more if they aren't. You'll get about 10 or 12 kinda small pancakes out of this recipe,and to be honest, I could eat them all. It doubles easily, so if you're roasting a chicken or some other meat or making a pot of chili, etc, just go ahead and make lots.

You can also add some cheese to the batter, if you like. I like the pure taste of the vegetables, so I don't add more than salt and pepper. And you can use leeks, you can use zucchini, and when they come back in the spring, I'm doing this with fresh peas.

This takes a bit more work than a simple pot of rice or potatoes, but aren't you worth it?

ENJOY