Sourdough, leek, corn, and quinoa pancakes

Pancake breakfast! A Sunday classic. Well, not where I grew up 😀

I will admit that I find standard American pancakes somewhat bland. Add ricotta, or sourdough, now we are talking. And in particular, I am developing a taste for savory pancakes - no sugar spike, good fiber content, and much more interesting flavors than straight out sweetness.

Today's experiment turned out particularly well. I set a goal for myself that I want a low-fat fare, with a broad nutritional content, and an explosive taste. Quite a challenge! Immediately, sourdough came to mind, as it makes everything taste better. I have whose super sweet corn kernels in the freezer that I use to provide sweetness, and I'd balance it for color and flavor with leeks. Add some umami in the form of miso paste. For protein and fiber we can throw in some quinoa. Seasoning, keep it simple with just a bit of salt and pepper. Remember, miso paste packs a punch. For decadence, serve it all with a poached egg. I had a plan!

Here is how the pancakes turned out. Both Jasna and I had to reach for seconds!

Procedure

• Feed your sourdough starter the night before. Also feed the starter that you took our of your starter jar, and leave it covered on the counter overnight. In the morning, it will be super active.

The next day:

• Take 1/2 cup dry quinoa. 
• Toast quinoa in a sauce pan, tossing it periodically so that it does not burn.
• When quinoa starts to release fragrance, add 1 cup of preferably boiling water. Maybe a bit more than a cup, because the hot pot will immediately cause water to evaporate.
• Add 1/2 TSP miso paste, bring to boil, and stir to dissolve miso paste.
• Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until quinoa absorbs the liquid.
• Take off the stove to cool down.

While quinoa is cooling, or sooner if you want a jump start:

• Add 1/2 cup of frozen super sweet corn kernels to a medium sized bowl.
• Thoroughly clean and thinly slice about 1/2 of a medium sized leek. Use both the white and the green part of the leek.
• Add the sliced leek to the bowl.
• Add somewhat cooled quinoa. I eyeballed about 1/2 of cooked quinoa.
• Add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
• Mix well, this will cool the quinoa some more.
• Add 1 egg, and about a cup of souordough starter.
• Mix well. Taste for seasoning if you wish, or fry up a small piece to adjust seasoning.

To cook pancakes:

• Add a touch of high-smoking-point oil to a non-stick pan, and spoon in 4 dollops of batter. The size is your choice. Spread the batter a bit in the pan.
• Fry until golden and the bubbles appear in the middle of a pancake. Flip, and fry until the other side is golden, and take out. Repeat until you have used batter.

While you are frying pancakes:

• To a medium-size pot add water to 3/4 height, a good pinch of salt, and a TBS or three of vinegar.
• Bring that to a simmer.
• Crack an egg in a small bowl.
• With a spoon, go around the edge of the pot to create a vortex in the middle. No need to be too aggressive.
• Slide the egg in the middle of the vortex. The spinning water will keep the egg nicely together.
• Keep the water barely at the simmer for 4-5 minutes.
• Take the egg out with a spider strainer, dry it on a paper towel, and serve on top of a pancake.

Note:

• The vortex for poached eggs is not really needed, and it gets clunky when you are poaching more than one egg. But it is a gentle vortex, so you can create it with other eggs already in the water.
• The critical part is that the water should be barely at the simmer, or barely under the simmer. That way, the egg will not get destroyed when it is tossed around by boiling water.