Stuffed pancake
Last year I attended a cooking demonstration and learned about making stuffed pancakes. I've been wanting to experiment with it for awhile, so last week I attempted my own version. The cool thing about this recipe is that it's really more about the method and less about the specific ingredients. You can choose whatever flavors you like best for the filling. For this one, I chose sausage, shiitake mushrooms, shallots, fire-roasted tomatoes and some seasonings.
I sautéed all the ingredients and set them aside while I prepared the pancake dough. The dough is very simple. It's merely 2 and 1/4 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water with a teaspoon of salt. You'll want to combine the flour, salt and water and then cover and rest the dough for about 15 minutes.
Once the dough has rested, roll it out on a floured surface.
Next, brush the dough with olive oil. I used a balsamic and garlic infused oil.
Place your filling of choice on the dough. Be careful not to use too much filling or it will be difficult to contain.
Next, roll the dough into a log, tucking bits of the filling inside the dough.
Carefully roll the log into itself, creating a circle. Use a small amount of water to keep the dough sticking to itself if needed.
Use a rolling pin to flatten the pancake.
Transfer the pancake to a pan with hot vegetable oil. Let it cook for 2 minutes or so, and carefully flip the pancake. Hot oil splatters. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Once browned and crispy, transfer the pancake to a platter to cool. Slice into wedges and enjoy! This makes a great appetizer at parties, or a fun "street food" snack anytime.
You could choose any combination of flavors. I really like the idea of an Asian-inspired pancake with ground pork, ginger, sesame oil and some scallions. You could even go Italian and use fresh basil, fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic and ground chicken.
Get creative and let me know your ideas!
How to Prep Fennel
Fennel is a somewhat awkward-looking vegetable with a broad bulb and and frilly green frawns. When raw, it has a distinct anise or licorice flavor; however when cooked, it becomes much more mellow and slightly sweet.
Fennel can be used raw in salads or cooked a number of ways. For my recipe testing, I tried the fennel three ways: roasted, boiled and sautéed. The roasted fennel seemed to have the mildest flavor of the three methods. When sautéed, the anise was still present, but not nearly as prominent as the boiled fennel. Classic pairings with fennel include apples and oranges, which help bring out the sweeter side.
If you plan to work with fennel, here are a few basic steps to get you going:
Step One:
Cut the frawns from the bulb. The frawns can be used as garnish, mixed in salads, or saved for the stock pot.
Step Two:
Cut the fennel bulb in half.
Step Three:
Using your knife, remove the center core from each of the halves.
Step Four:
Slice the fennel bulbs into strips.
Step Five:
Dice the fennel to your desired width.
Student Organic Farm
With snow still on the ground last week, I decided to head out to the Student Organic Farm to visit the Yakeley Hoophouse, affectionately known as "Salad Palace."
The Yakeley Hoophouse supplies organic mixed greens to the salad bar at Yakeley Hall, and also provides greens for specialty salads at The Gallery.
With the use of hoophouses, the farm is able to grow fresh produce year-round, grown for students by students.
Kale is one of the primary crops at the hoophouse. It was a really cool experience for me as a chef to be able to pick a leaf and taste the produce right there on the spot. They were also growing spinach and cilantro, as well as a few other varieties of greens.
The view from the interior of the hoophouse is pretty impressive, with the organic greens contrasting with the snow outside.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Student Organic Farm and what they do, you can follow them on Twitter.
Comments
Post new comment
Vegan "mac and cheese"
Macaroni and cheese is one of my all-time favorite dishes. I've been thinking a lot lately about making a vegan version of the dish, and a vegan friend told me about nutritional yeast, which is yellow in color and has a nutty flavor and creamy consistency.
It was a bit experimental, but I did some research on different recipes out there and put my own spin on it. Most recipes use pureed boiled vegetables to create the sauce; however, it is my opinion that you get a lot more flavor by sautéing the vegetables instead. I added some sliced mushrooms and tomatoes for texture and flavor and whole wheat penne pasta instead of traditional macaroni.
The taste-testers in my office all liked the dish, and the students with the Residence Hall Association (RHA) also liked it and gave me some great feedback. I'm going to continue to refine the dish, and possibly add some turnips to the recipe for a bit more flavor.
In the coming weeks, the dish will be available at Captain Pea Pods, the vegetarian station in Shaw Hall. We'll test the dish there, and I welcome your feedback. If successful, it's something I'd love to implement as part of our core menu in the halls.
Let me know your thoughts. Are there any other vegan dishes you'd like to see in the halls?
How to Prep a Leek
It may look like a giant scallion, but the leek is actually much milder in flavor. It is native to the Mediterranean and has a thick white stalk with long, flat dark green leaves.
Most of the time, leeks are sautéed or are used in soups and salads. In my opinion, you can bring out more flavor when you braise them. Braising is a cooking method in which food is cooked in a small amount of liquid at a low heat for a lengthy period of time.
When cooking, you won’t want to use those long green leaves. The usable part of the leek is the white center stalk.
To prepare a leek for use, follow these steps:
Step one
Cut off the root of the leek.
Step two
Cutting on a diagonal, remove the long green leaves.
Your leek should look something like this:
Step three
Slice the leek in half length-wise.
Step four
Chop the leeks to your desired width.
Step five
Put the chopped leeks into a large bowl of water. Stir them around to remove any dirt trapped in the layers. Make sure you’ve removed all the dirt or you’ll end up with an unappetizing and gritty dish.
Step six
Strain the leeks out of the water and transfer to a container until you are ready to use them.
Comments
Leeks are great in soup. Thanks for the tips, Kurt.
I always get leeks confused with scallions. Sounds like with leeks, you just eat the stalks, but with scallions, anything goes?
Post new comment
Kurt Kwiatkowski is the Corporate Chef for Culinary Services in the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services at Michigan State University. As Corporate Chef, he sets the standards for the core menu and develops staff training.
Chef Kurt holds a bachelor’s degree in Food Systems Management and Economics and a master’s degree from The School of Hospitality Business, both from Michigan State University.
Comments
Simply fabulous. The North Indian version of this one is called a Paratha. I stuff mine with a mix of mashed potato, chopped green chillies, sliced onion, some ginger-garlic paste and raisins.The best part is, you can have fun customising these and they make for a complete meal at any time of day! Just add Yogurt as a side and some extra butter on top : )
Your stuffed pancake recipe is really delicious,what I like most in it is the selection of flavor & choice of filling. I must try it soon with my own flavor.Thanks.
The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need! betclic fr
Your stuffed pancake recipe is really delicious,what I like most in it is the selection of flavor & choice of filling.I must try it soon with my own flavor.Thanks.
What a great post, we tried it and it turned out incredible.Cheers!<a href="http://www.austinbrown.com">Austin Brown</a>
I did my ala Mexican with chicken...sort of like a machaca pollo asado...boneless skinless chicken breast, egg whites, diced tomatoes and onions, green chile, cilantro and then added some spanish rice...the kids loved it and did not realize it was actually a pretty healthy meal..
We had a great time with this tonight. I went with a bacon and apple filling while Anna had brie, pear, and walnuts. Delicious!
Post new comment