This is a really healthy, really tasty way to eat a veggie-filled lunch. This pancake salad is the perfect thing to make for a girls’ lunch. The veggie pancake is mostly made of beets, and when it cooks, it becomes a sweet, caramelized, savory concoction that pairs perfectly with some spicy arugula. Everything in this meal is good for you!
Start off by cooking 1 cup of cubed potato or squash. I steamed some butternut squash (which Stella went looney for). Then, peel 3 beets and 3 carrots. I love how beet juice looks, except when I think I’m bleeding.
Use a food processor to grate the carrots and the beets. You could do it by hand, but why? Add the gratings to a LARGE bowl. Rinse a can of chickpeas, and add half of them to the bowl. Chop the other half of the chickpeas up, and then add them to the bowl too. Also throw in your cup of potato/squash. Add 1/2 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, some pepper, and stir everything together really well.
Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan that has sides. Pour the beet mixture into the pan, and press down on it with a spatula to flatten it out. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Then, as you would with a frittata, place a plate on top of the pan and flip the plate and the pan over so the pancake drops onto the plate. Have no fear! Then, slide the pancake back into the pan so the uncooked side is on the bottom. Again, cook it for 10 minutes.
Serve your beet pancake by cutting it into wedges and topping it with arugula. Dress the arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. If you want to add some extra heft to this meal, serve a cooked egg on top. You also might want to have a piece of toasty bread if you need some carbs to help fill you up.
And guess what? Stella girl likes arugula!! Maybe a little too much…
This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine, Sept. 2011.
Whisk together 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons of hot sauce, 2 splashes of wine vinegar, and 1/3 cup of olive oil. Rachael also says to add 1 tablespoon of grill seasoning and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, but I didn’t have those things. In fact, I just had a crazy dream that David and I were running through an old timey boardwalk/hotel town, and we came across some prohibited Worcestershire sauce in a gift shop. I bought it. Anyway, pour this mixture over the steaks, and let them sit for at least 15 minutes.
Heat a grill pan over a high flame, and cook the steaks on it. I think about 5 minutes per side would give you a nice, medium doneness, but use a meat thermometer to be sure. I’d also recommend using your kitchen exhaust fan, opening some windows, and getting ready to fan your smoke detectors while these babies cook.
Start off by heating your oven to 375°F. Then, dice 1 potato per person into medium sized cubes. Toss the potatoes with olive oil and salt, and spread them on a baking sheet.
Bake the potatoes for about 45 minutes until they are browned and crispy. While they cook, prepare the spicy tomato sauce.
In a pot, brown 1/2 of a diced onion and 3 minced garlic cloves in olive oil. Add 1/2 cup of white wine (or chicken/veggie stock), bring it to a boil, and let it reduce by half. Then, mix in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 can (14 ounces) of crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of hot sauce, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and let it cook while the potatoes bake. Taste the sauce and add some cayenne pepper if you want even more heat. You can blend the sauce if you want it to have a smoother consistency, but I just mashed it with a potato masher to break down the large tomato chunks after it cooked for a while. When the potatoes are brown, pour enough spicy sauce over them to coat them. There should be enough sauce for 4 potatoes (any leftovers would be great on chicken or as a dip for bread).
Put the potatoes back into the oven for 5-10 minutes until the sauce dries out a little bit and starts to caramelize. Then you’re ready to eat! The sauce on these potatoes is a real winner. Yummm. Olé!