World Cup…OF PANCAKES

Olá fanquecas! (That’s Hi Fancakes in Portuguese). In honor of all things World cup, we here at SYTYCP have decided to go on a pancake journey of world cup teams – we might not be able to get to Rio, but we can definitely eat pancakes like we are (…that’s basically the same, right?)

Let’s get pancaking! To kick off the inaugural start of the World Cup of Pancakes, we started in the host country, Brazil with some Brazilian Panquecas.

Panquecas are definitely savory pancakes – in fact, you basically make savory crepes and almost treat them like pasta shells/noodles. You stuff each crepe with a delicious and simple filling of ground beef and sauteed veggies. Traditionally, panquecas would be served with a green salad and rice. I had some peas that were on their last legs so I just did a light lemon dressing. The goal is to have something fresh to contrast with the pancakes, so I think my pea salad served that purpose even if they were a tad untraditional. (oh, and the rice just never got made…)

 

Even though it seems like the steps to making panquecas may be a little involved, it’s really not! The crepes are super simple and if you can handle a little basic cooking, the filling is no problem at all. Plus, it’s totally worth the effort – these pancakes are DELICIOUS. For reals, the filling is rich and hearty, the flavors all meld together, and the cheese just kicks it up a notch. Can I say that we shouted “GOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL” after tasting these? We didn’t, but I felt like that needed to be typed out.

So, for your next world cup viewing, skip the chips and dip/wings/fries…whatever else you might be thinking of and go straight for the pancakes!

4 out of 5 stackies: 

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

1 C flour

1 1/2 C whole milk

1 Tbs oil (plus more for cooking)

1/2 tsp salt

For the filling:

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 bell pepper (I used yellow, but any color works)

chives or green onions

1 clove of garlic

salt and pepper

And…

Tomato Sauce

8 oz shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil. Then, sift in the flour and salt. Whisk the mixture together until all the lumps are out. (Alternatively, you can put all the pancake ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth). Set aside to rest.

Dice the onion, pepper, chives, and garlic.  In a large pan over medium high heat, cook the garlic until fragrant (use 2-3 Tbs of oil to cook). Then, add the onions, pepper, and chives and cook until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).

Add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until it’s cooked through, another 5 or so minutes.

Put the filling aside, preheat the oven to 375°F, and start working on the pancakes.

Heat a small nonstick pan over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan. Cook 1/4 C of batter at a time (give the batter a quick stir before you measure). Swirl the batter so the entire bottom of the pan is coated.

Cook for about 2 minutes, the edges will be crispy and the top of the pancake should be dry to the touch.

Flip and cook for another minute. Slide the pancake onto a pan and keep cooking – makes about 9 pancakes.

When you’re done cooking the pancakes, it’s time to start assembly.

Take one pancake at a time, and scoop about 1/4 of filling onto the pancake. Sprinkle with some cheese.

Roll the pancake up and place it seam side down into a glass pan (you can use metal, but make sure to line it with aluminum foil so the pancakes don’t stick).

When the pan is full, lightly spoon about 2 Tbs of tomato sauce on each pancake.

Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top of the pancakes and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and enjoy!