Hello,

Turning traditionally sweet food into something savory is nothing new. Of course there is Zucchini Bread and Carrot Cake but the vegetable additions are usually masked by lots of sugar and sweet spices. Nowadays, you can find items like Corn & Basil Cupcakes, Rosemary, Almond and Parmesan Cookies, and even our Savory Quick Bread with Broccoli Rabe and Sun-dried Tomatoes, which keep the basic shape of the original item but lacks most or all of the sweetness.

This is my take on a Buckwheat Vegetable Pancake recipe from Fresh Food Fast (one of my favorite cookbooks), which looks like a pancake but is served as a savory side dish. The author uses cabbage where I use kale but I think a number of vegetables would work well. These are great because you can flavor them in any number of ways – I added a few dashes of a Turkish spice blend but I think curry powder or Italian seasoning would be great too. You could also skip the spices and just add fresh herbs, like dill or parsley.

I didn’t try it, but you might be able to make this vegan by swapping the eggs for flax or chia eggs and using a plant based milk. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!

Also, if you want a dipping sauce to serve along side, try this spicy yogurt sauce: mix together 1 cup whole-milk yogurt, a couple tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1 small minced garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon (or more as desired) cayenne.

Vegetable Packed Pancakes
makes about 10 3″ pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour of choice (I used 1/4 cup buckwheat + 1/4 cup brown rice flour but you could also use more all-purpose)
• 1-1/4 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1-1/2 cups milk (I used soy milk but use whatever you have on hand)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups finely chopped kale
• 1 large carrot, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, about 3/4 cup
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• Spices / herbs of choice, optional
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir to combine.
• Add the kale, carrots, scallions and spices / herbs, if using, to the batter and mix well. The batter will be thick.
• Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a 12″ non-stick skillet until shimmering. Using a 1/3 cup dry measure, add three scoops of batter to the pan. Cook until the first side is spotty brown and there are bubbles around the edge, about 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is spotty brown and the pancakes are cooked through, another few minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cook the remaining batter.
• To keep all pancakes warm while working in batches, you can place the cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to a 200 degree oven.