Food lies at the heart of our bodies and our culture; it is there for celebrations and sustenance. NOMaste features a local fierce foodie each month, in four weekly segments. First, an interview, then a top 10 list, followed by a recipe to share, and finally a food review. This food corner will not just feature local chefs but also restaurateurs, buyers, suppliers — any woman involved in any aspect of the food chain, from farm to food truck. Join us each week as we get to know another Foodie in the city. Part I of this month’s series can be found here, and part II can be found here.
Prish’s Pancakes
4 cups of all purpose flour
1 Tbsp plus 1tsp baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp sea salt
6 large fresh eggs, separated into 2 bowls
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted then cooled
3 cups whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 Tbsp dried lemon rind (Penzey’s)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (concentrate works if you don’t
have a lemon half)
- Mix and whisk the first 4 dry ingredients in one bowl.
- Mix the egg yolks in a second bowl then add the other wet ingredients and the lemon rind in this second bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Don’t go nuts as it will get gluey.
- Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl to medium peaks – do not overbeat!
- Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula, half at a time. The batter will be swirls of whites. Do not overmix – just fold the fluffiness into the wetness!
- Now your griddle should be hot. When ready, grease and with unsalted butter and drop a small mound of batter onto the skillet. Watch for it to set before flipping. They are thick and cakey!
- Add fresh blueberries onto the cooking pancake top before flipping, if you choose. The lemon and blueberry and vanilla are amazing together! Banana slices are amazing tooooooo!
- Flip, fry, wait, and eat! Use confectioners sugar or maple syrup with yet more butter!
- Now ENJOY!
This recipe makes about 18 pancakes. The batter is good in the fridge for a few hours. I cook all of the batter up and freeze the cooled pancakes, if there is leftover batter. Heat them in the toaster or eat all day at room temp. Always tasty!
There are fluffy pancakes, and then there are Prish’s huge fluffy piles of carbs. It is an almost-impossible writing task to describe how perfect these pancakes are. These delightful cakes are thick, dreamy, moist, and fluffy. They are everything you want a pancake to be. I didn’t think that folding whipped-up egg whites into the batter was required for a fluffy pancake, but clearly I was wrong my entire life. The batter seemed to fluff up in the bowl all by itself, while it was sitting on the counter, waiting to be turned into pancakes.
I made the usual mistake of having the griddle a bit too hot, and leaving my pancakes on there a bit too long. After some trial-and-error, the best practice seems to be to get the pan medium-high, pour on the batter, and wait ’til some bubbles appear in the pancake before flipping. Definitely don’t wait until all the bubbles have formed, and no more are coming up — this means the pancake is most likely burned a little at the bottom. Even my overcooked pancakes were delicious, and once I got into the groove of pouring, cooking, and flipping, I was on a roll — I found my groove, and the batter was gone before I knew it.
I had cut the recipe in half since it sounded like a lot of pancake batter for one person. Thankfully, I had a friend visit while I was doing this, so there was another person helping me feast on the meal. Still, we each had about six pancakes, and there were still plenty leftover for about two meals. I had them with only butter and maple syrup, so I could taste the pancakes without anything getting in the way. Next time I would definitely add blueberries or chocolate chips.
If you want to impress someone and host a brunch at your place, this simple recipe should be your new go-to. It is cheap to make, since it is still at its core pancakes — flour, eggs, milk, and butter providing ample food for a small army. But the incredible fluffiness and professional quality you get from these will make you look like a rockstar in the kitchen. Add to that the fact that with a few nuts, fruits, and toppings, you can create a dozen different varieties without having to break a sweat. Add a cup of coffee or milk (or mimosas) to the table and you have a brunch to remember.
Voila! With this recipe YOUR place will now be THE place to have brunch this weekend!