Zucchini Pancakes with Spelt- Savory or Sweet

Hoards of zucchini? Zucchini pancakes, made with spelt flour and buttermilk, will put a dent in your supply. Served sweet or savory, this classic pleases everybody but with a unnoticed serving of vegetables.

Hello friends! Last week was the first week I did not post on POP KITCHEN since I started this thing in January. I was on vacation with my family, sitting on the beach in Grand Haven, Michigan, sipping a local Vander Mill Cider , and taking photos of beautiful babies.

I didn’t show up here and I felt really guilty about it.

Ideally, I would have liked to have had a post written in advance that I could have scheduled for your pleasure (and my convenience). But I’ll be honest with you. It has been a struggle to keep up. I was very set back by the time devoured by our international move. And if that wasn’t major enough, I am still trying to find a way to make this all work while Willow is home from school for the summer. My partner Jazz and my mom have been a big help, but it is very difficult to get the headspace needed to be creative when there’s a 4 (and a 1/2) year old on the loose.

Nevertheless, September is on the very near horizon. Which means soon, very soon, I can get back into the swing of things. Thanks for sticking with me through the madness of this summer.

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

Pancakes deserve some respect. The perfect hot cake is an art form in the least and seems a crime to greatly tweak it from it’s original form (i.e. protein powder pancakes, WTF!). But who am I to judge. I am constantly tweaking and altering things to see if I can make something interesting and new from it. And that’s what I did here with these zucchini pancakes. I messed around with the tried and true formula but kept my commitment to the essence of a beautiful pancake: fluff, moisture, and a salty/sour backbone. And I don’t even want to tell you what the secret ingredient is. Because you will close your browser and walk away from me forever. But please believe me, it is drab and boring without it.

And the secret ingredient in zucchini pancakes is…

Made with spelt flour, for that extra fiber, omegas, and vitamin K, these zucchini pancakes are hella nutritious. The buttermilk adds that sour depth that makes buttermilk pancakes stand out from the rest. And that secret ingredient? You promise you won’t run away? Alright, I’ll tell you. It’s white cheddar cheese.

I know! So weird. Let me tell you how this happened. I was attempting to make a truly savory, zucchini pancake. Cheddar cheese seemed like an obvious addition. The only problem was, when I tasted the delicious pancake that turned out so well, all I wanted to do was smother it in maple syrup. And I did. The result was DIVINE! So I thought, I’ll just make regular pancakes. So I made another batch and left the cheese out. Because obviously, that’s gross. But the result was boring and very zucchini-y. The interesting, slightly salty, depth of flavor was gone. So, I added the cheddar back into the batter and voila! Back to that flavorful, fluffy cake.

UP TO YOUR EYEBALLS IN ZUCCHINI

Starting in August you will really start to see a lot of interesting foods popping out in your farm shares, gardens, or markets. But I really wanted to commit a few recipes to zucchini in my “What to do with your CSA farm share” series. Because if you’ve ever gardened before, you’ll know, the zucchini is never ending. And the ideas of what to do with it all are very finite. These zucchini pancakes will help you check off a least one zucchini off your list.

WHAT’S IN SEASON THIS WEEK | AUGUST 9- 15

Here’s what you’re most likely to find in your farm shares or at a farmer’s market this week.

Summer squash *
Potatoes
Head lettuce
Tomatoes
Jalapeños
Onions
Garlic
Eggplant
Radishes
Kale
Nappa Cabbage
Cucumbers
Green Beans

The asterisked items are featured in this recipe .

As this recipe contains no sugar, zucchini pancakes can be served either in their traditional, sweet form doused in maple syrup or jam, or savory, smothered in bacon (or tempeh bacon) and eggs. The possibilities are limitless. Because who doesn’t love pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.

When you make these zucchini pancakes, let me know! I absolutely love seeing your photos of POP KITCHEN recipes up on Instagram. Use the hashtag #popkitchen when you post photos of recipes you’ve made to your Instagram and tag @pop_kitch. I’ll share my favorite photos on POP KITCHEN’s account.

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Recipe

Zucchini Pancakes with Spelt- Savory or Sweet

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 Tbsp melted butter
1½ cups spelt flour (can substitute with whole wheat flour)
1¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups zucchini, shredded with a box grater (about 1 med/large zucchini) peel the zucchini if you want to hide it’s presence from picky eaters
½ cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
Extra butter for cooking

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and butter. Sift in the spelt flour, baking soda, and salt and stir until all the flour is incorporated but not much more. Over mixing can cause the pancakes to get tough and chewy. Stir in the cheddar cheese and grated zucchini and until evenly combined.
Either set an electric griddle to 350 F/175 C or heat a frying pan or cast iron skillet on the stove on medium low. Once the surface is hot, add a small pat of butter. Scoop a ¼ cup of the zucchini pancake batter into the pan. Cook until the underside is golden brown. Look for the bubbles in the top of the pancake to pop. Turn down the heat if the bottom gets perfectly golden before the bubbles start to pop. Flip the pancake and cook another 1-2 minutes or until the other side is nice and golden. Keep your pancakes in a warm oven while you continue to make the rest of the pancakes.
Serve with butter and pure maple syrup, jam or honey or savory with eggs, meat, or extra cheese.