Black Sea pancakes

We generally think of pancakes as sweet, topped with butter and syrup or honey. But there is a world of savoury pancakes that is also amazing. This is one of those recipes.

We would not have thought of Turkey as having a pancake culture, but I was surprised to find that it has deep roots in the region. There are numerous varieties: Akitama, a thin, crepe-like pancake brushed with butter and enjoyed with salty goat cheese, and Lalagna, an Ottoman dish made from a thick batter with cheese. Otlu, from the Black Sea region, transitions between a pancake and an omelet.

These pancakes, similar to the Otlu, are simple to make, really a no-effort dish. The vegetables add a texture to the soft pancake, with the flavor coming from the abundance of parsley. The side salad is lovely, adding freshness to the dish.

This is a fantastic cookbook by a British chef who specializes in Middle Eastern and Turkish cuisines. It is filled with recipes for kebabs, stews, other Turkish favourites, and some more contemporary dishes. Everything I have cooked from this book has been fantastic; it is one of my favorite Turkish cookbooks.

For more wonderful recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup full-fat milk

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups greens, baby spinach, or other, 1/2 cup parsley, minced

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil + to cook

Sea salt, to taste

For the salad:

1 1/2 cups greens, baby spinach, or other, 1/2 cup parsley, minced

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

Drizzle of lemon/lime juice

Sea salt, to taste

Method:

For the pancakes:

Mix all the ingredients into a thin batter. Whisk well. Set aside until you are ready to make the pancakes.

For the salad:

Toss the ingredients well, except for the lime juice. Set aside.

To serve:

Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium flame. Stir the batter well and pour a small ladle into the center of the pan. The batter should naturally spread out into a thin pancake. Spread out the vegetables and cook for 1- 1 1/2 minutes until the base is well caramelized. Flip and cook for another minute.

Serve immediately. Top the pancake with the salad with a squeeze of lime juice.