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Spinach Pancakes

Another good pancake starter or side dish. At their best hot, but still good warm. You can use frozen spinach for this if that’s all you have.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

10 ounces fresh spinach, large stems removed, or one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk, as needed
2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter
Butter or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed, for frying
1 cup sour cream, optional
1 tablespoon minced lemon zest, optional

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the fresh spinach in a covered saucepan over medium heat with just the water clinging to its leaves after washing or plunge it into a pot of salted boiling water. Either way, cook it until it wilts, just a couple of minutes. Drain, cool, squeeze dry, and chop.

    Step 2

    Preheat a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-low heat while you make the batter. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs into 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk, then stir in the melted butter. Stir this into the dry ingredients, adding a little more buttermilk if the batter seems thick; stir in the spinach.

    Step 3

    Use a teaspoon or two of butter or oil each time you add batter (you can use less with a nonstick skillet if you like). When the butter foam subsides or the oil shimmers, ladle batter onto the griddle or skillet, making any size pancakes you like. Adjust the heat as necessary; usually the first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. The idea is to brown the bottom in 2 to 4 minutes, without burning it. Flip only when the pancakes are fully cooked on the bottom; they won’t hold together well until they’re ready.

    Step 4

    Cook until the second side is lightly browned; as the pancakes are done, put them on an ovenproof plate in the oven for up to 15 minutes. Mix the sour cream and lemon zest together and place a small dollop on each pancake.

  2. Mixed-Herb Pancakes

    Step 5

    Substitute 1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, like parsley, mint, and chives, for the spinach.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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