Tag: Carrot

Baked Vegetable Pancakes with Tangy Sauce

Grain-free    &&    Low-fat    &&    Pancakes

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In this edition of Pancakes Today… er, I mean, Robot Recipes…

More savory pancakes! Have them for dinner! Pack them for lunch! Have them for breakfast to get a jump start on your veggie quota for the day!

These pancakes are mostly vegetables, with some protein to help them stick together, but not enough protein (in my humble opinion) to be really filling, particularly if you’re super hungry. If you have these for a meal, I recommend serving them alongside something else that will help satisfy a hearty appetite. To make a more filling meal, you could have some spiced/garlic cauliflower rice on the side and serve the pancakes topped with an over-easy egg (or egg whites). There’s also time to rummage through the fridge and throw something together that suits your fancy while these are baking.

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There is a bit of vegetable prep involved, but it’s definitely worth it. These pancakes are tastier than a stack of vegetables has any right to be.

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Baked Vegetable Pancakes with Tangy Sauce

This recipe is an adaptation (a more flavorful one, if I may be so bold) of Smitten Kitchen’s Japanese Cabbage and Vegetable Pancakes.

Bits:

For the Pancakes:

  • About 7 large lacinato kale (cavalo nero) leaves, de-stemmed and chopped (about 90g after de-stemming, about 3 cups chopped)
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and grated (about 250g, or 2 ¼ cups grated)
  • 1 medium beet, peeled and grated (about 80g, or about 1 cup grated)
  • ½ head green or red cabbage, shredded (about 330g, or 4 cups after shredding)
  • 5-6 scallions (50 g after slicing)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp rasam powder (or substitute your favorite curry powder)
  • 1 cup (120 g) chickpea flour
  • 1 cup egg whites (equivalent of 5 large eggs)

For the sauce:

Algorithm:

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower thirds of your oven. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In your largest mixing bowl, toss together the prepared vegetables. Add the salt, cumin, coriander, rasam (or curry) powder, and chickpea flour. Toss again to evenly coat the vegetables. Pour the egg whites into the bowl and stir with a big wooden spoon until everything is evenly coated.

Scoop a scant 1 cup of the vegetable mixture and place it on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten into a disk about 5 inches / 13 cm in diameter. Repeat 10 or 11 more times until you run out of batter. Bake pancakes for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges start to brown and the vegetables look fairly roasty. When the pancakes are done, remove baking sheets from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

While the vegetable pancakes are baking, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all the sauce ingredients, stir together and bring to a boil. Lower heat and keep at a gentle simmer for at least five minute. I usually leave the sauce on the stove on low after that until the pancakes are ready.

Now make any optional sides or garnishes (cauliflower rice, over easy egg, etc). Serve the pancakes alongside the sauce for dipping or spreading over as desired.

North-African Spiced Dal with Lime and Curry Leaf Roasted Vegetables

Vegan    &&    Grain-free    &&    Very low fat

North African Red Lentil Dal w Curry Lime Roasted Veggies - top

Like the dish from the previous post, this started as two disparate recipes, but I realized they would probably go quite well together. I’m already a little bit obsessed with dal of any kind, and roasting is pretty much factually and provably the best possible way to cook a veggie. The spices and fresh leaves are the icing on the cake. When I first tasted this dal with the roasted vegetables together all in one bite I had a full-on Ratatouille moment. You know the one, where Remy the rat shows us the magic of two great tastes that taste even greater together. Somehow the result is more than the sum of its parts. Yeah, that was this, for me.

Fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves can be a bit hard to source, but they are definitely worth seeking out. Especially fresh curry leaves; they’re one of my all-time favorite ingredients and I don’t think there is really any good substitute for them. Even dried curry leaves only have a tiny fraction of the flavor you’ll get from fresh or frozen. Fortunately if you can find fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, they usually keep for at least a couple weeks in the fridge, and for several months in an air-tight container in the freezer! (So stock up when you find them!) In Seattle I’ve found fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves at H-Mart, though to be honest, the curry leaves there can be a little sad-looking (the leaves should be bright green, not brown). My absolute favorite place to get fresh curry leaves is a little Indian grocery in Shoreline called Indian Sweets & Spices. Definitely check them out if you can. They’ve got a nice selection of organic dals, grains, and spices as well.

Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredients list; half of it is just spices. Both parts of this dish are pretty easy. Most of the time to make the roasted vegetables is hands-off, so you can use that time to put the dal together.

North African Red Lentil Dal w Curry Lime Roasted Veggies - side

Adapted from KCET’s Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Curry Roasted Root Vegetables with Lime from his (genius, amazing, beautiful) book Plenty More

Serves 6 generously, as a full meal (more if you add rice)

Prep and cook time: about an hour

Bits

– Roasted Veg

  • 4 large carrots (about 900g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
  • 4 medium parsnips (about 750g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
  • 1 rutabaga (about 400g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
  • Oil in a spray can (optional)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 3 Tbsp lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp curry powder
  • 4 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves (2 stems), finely sliced
  • 30-40 fresh or frozen curry leaves still on their stems
  • 5 green onions, white and green parts, sliced on the diagonal
  • small handful chopped parsley

-Dal

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2-inch thumb of ginger, finely diced (1 heaping tsp)
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
  • 1 green chile / jalapeño, de-seeded for milder spice if desired, finely diced
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp rasam powder (or substitute 1 tsp curry powder)
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups vegetable broth (I really like Organic Imagine Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth)
  • 2 cups red lentils, rinsed in several changes of water, until water runs clear
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 sprigs (or to taste) fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

Algorithm

  • Roast the vegetables:
    • Heat the oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Toss carrot, parsnip, and rutabaga batons together and spray lightly with oil, if using. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, and curry powder, and toss to evenly coat.
    • Roast 30 minutes, tossing once half way through.
    • Add lime leaves, curry leaves on their stems, and green onions. Roast about another 10 minutes until the green onions have softened, but remove from oven if the curry leaves start to brown.
    • Remove curry leaves from their stems; discard the stems and add curry leaves back to the baking sheet with the vegetables. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice and cilantro, and toss everything together once more.
  • Make the dal while the vegetables are roasting:
    • Add onion to a large sauce pan, or dutch oven over medium heat. Stir for about 5 minutes until onion starts to become translucent (moisture released from the onion itself will keep it from sticking and burning in the pot; no oil needed!).
    • Add ginger, garlic, and chile; cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally to keep anything from burning. Add the spices through the rasam (or curry) powder, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste, and cook for 1 more minute.
    • Add water, broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and partially cover. Simmer vigorously for about 15 minutes until the lentils are starting to fall apart.
    • Stir in salt, lemon juice and the mint. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
  • To serve: Ladle the dal into deep bowls. Top with a generous serving of roasted vegetables. Sprinkle with any extra mint or parsley, as desired.