Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Pancake Crazy For Vegetarian 'Meat' Meals

Sweetcorn pancakes and broccoli pancakes
How can a vegetarian kitchen serve meat and two veg? (Disclaimer: I say vegetarian kitchen as my kitchen is vegetarian [with tins of tuna] but I am not. I have good reasons which will be in another post... one day.) Of course it can't. However there are reasons why you might want to serve something of similar weight and texture. Here are my reasons:

1. Cook meat, add potatoes or rice, a couple of cooked vegetables and a salad et voila - a dinner party! With meatless food it's somehow never as simple as that. Whatever I serve (vegetable strudel, lasagne, quiche, stuffed vegetables) and whatever I add (kugel, latkes, curried rice with everything) I'm thinking: why am I adding more starch when the main item already has pasta/rice/pastry in it? Ditto for the vegetable sides - more vegetables?

2. I'm always looking for that elusive meaty taste and texture. It's a mindset I have to get past but I'm not there yet.

3. Sometimes I want a burger with all the trimmings.

4. I like the old familiar foods even if they are meat-centric. Hence spaghetti tofunaise and vegetarian cholent.

I know the answer is to get over the traditional meat and two veg as the ideal meal but until I do I've gone a bit mad with pancakes. Make them thick and dense and full of flavour and you have something that can look like a burger, a chicken nugget, a sausage or a shnitzel. We're into nugget size at the moment as DD is 3yo and it suits her for dipping into ketchup.

Make nuggets with teaspoon size portions
Use fried onions, onion soup powder, soy sauce, tomato puree, curry powder, ground cumin or coriander, salt and pepper to experiment for a more meaty taste. Or use these ingredients to make a piquant sauce to serve with your pancakes.

Tuna pancakes (Yes I know!)
For the main pancake ingredient you can use any vegetables. Put them in the processor with eggs, flour and any of the above seasonings. Then spoon the mixture (teaspoons for nuggets, tablespoons for burgers) into hot oil and fry on both sides.

I'm linking this to Recipeshed at Chronicles of a Reluctant Housedad where the theme this week is soups and vegetarian. And I wish you all a flipping good Shrove Tuesday.

17 comments:

  1. I love savoury pancakes and will be eating them tomorrow, so I may borrow some of your ideas :)

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    1. Sorry I didn't give exact recipes but I don't really measure anything I just go by look and feel. You can't really go wrong though. Enjoy your pancakes.

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  2. I have River cottage veg and Nigel Slaters Tender books and they are really good recipe books for veg

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    1. I'm terrible when it comes to following recipes Jen - that's why I rarely bake. I like to wing it and see what happens. However, good veggie recipe books are great for looking at the pictures and gettikng ideas - thanks.

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  3. Great ideas! I'm looking forward to pancakes here at chez Jazzy this evening. I'm gonna put blueberries in mine!

    (Sorry I've not been visiting much..will be back in full mode soon!)

    xx Jazzy

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    1. Mmmmmm blueberry pancakes, yum! Don't worry about not visiting for a while - you've had a birthday to celebrate, and celebrate, and celebrate..... :)

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  4. Y'know I never worry about the 'meat and two veg' aspect of being veggie but I know it bothers a lot of people...dunno if you have Quorn products but here they turn them into everything pseudo-meaty...sausages, burgers, kievs, schnitzel, 'fish' fingers...you name it. My son loves 'em.
    Ah, but pancakes...YUM! I love sweetcorn fritters/pancakes possibly the best but yours look delish and I shall try. But tonight - in honour of Shrove Tuesday, it will be plain pancakes with sugar and lemon for me and toffee sauce for my son. :) xx

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    1. I haven't seen quorn here although we have Tivall here (it's an Israeli company called Tivol). I don't like to buy them as they are full of fats and chemicals and very expensive. My pancakes are just as good, cheaper and I know what's in them.

      Did you say toffee sauce? Mmmm heaven!

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  5. I was going to suggest chickpea fritters (which my 14 year old made last night, from scratch), but I forgot you live in the falafel capital of the universe.

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    1. Funny you should say that Tesyaa because I forgot to mention that chickpeas also give a nutty taste and a nice texture - I ofent throw in a handful of them aswell.

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  6. Both of those look fabulous! Do you own any Ottelenghi cookbooks? If there was anybody ever to tempt me into becoming vegetarian, it would be him! Emma :)

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    1. No but I've seen them and browsed through the pictures - I agree.

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  7. This is an ingenious way of doing pancakes. My kids can't get enough of 'em. They're almost like bhajis or pakoras.

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  8. Lovely recipe,and a new one for me, yet so simple- we are at the 'nugget shape' stage here, and also the tipping point for aversion to vegetables (which I hope doesn't tip, unlike his Dad and Uncle who are terrible at eating vegetables). I will keep the boy (and the 5yr old girl) on the vegetable straight and narrow with some sneaky ones!

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    1. Good luck! I just call them pancakes or nuggets and they get eaten. Dipping in tomato ketchup is an added treat and I just read that ketchup has good nutritional value.

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