Saturday, February 28, 2015

German Apple Pancake (Apfelpfannkuchen)

Inspired by the Original Pancake House; adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/the-original-pancake-house-apple-pancake-291063 and http://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/ApplePancake.htm

Ingredients

    5 tablespoons butter
    2 apples (peeled, cored, and sliced thin)
    1 tablespoon cinnamon
    1⁄3 cup brown sugar
    1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
    1 cup flour
    1 cup milk
    1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    4 eggs


Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Place oven rack in the middle of your oven.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, flour, milk, and vanilla extract; beat until batter is smooth (the batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy); set aside.

In a large heavy ovenproof frying pan, over medium heat, melt butter, tilting pan to cover sides. Add apples and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Stir and let cook for 5 to 7 minutes to slightly cook the apple slices; remove from heat.

Pour prepared pancake batter over the apples into the baking pan. Place pan in preheated oven and bake approximately 20 minutes or until puffed above sides of the pan and lightly browned (it may puff irregularly in the center); remove from oven.

Remove pancake from the baking pan by flipping upside down onto a serving platter (apples and cinnamon will be on top). Once out of the oven, the pancake will begin to deflate.

To serve, cut into serving-size wedges and transfer to individual serving plates. Serve with an optional dusting of powdered sugar over the top

Makes 1 large pancake of 2 to 4 servings (depending on your appetite).

Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

Adapted from http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pumpkin-Chickpea-Curry

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup canola oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, or to taste
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, cored and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1½ tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. garam masala
½ tsp. ground turmeric
2 (15 oz.) cans chickpeas, drained
1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin puree
6+ cups vegetable stock
1 large russet potato, diced
1 small head cauliflower, broken into medium-size florets
chopped cashews, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in an 8 quart saucepan over medium high heat.

Add garlic, carrot, celery, ginger and onion and cook until soft and golden, 15 minutes.

Add tomato, bay leaves, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add chickpeas, pumpkin and stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium, add potato and cauliflower, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 1 hour. Remove bay leaves. Serve garnished with chopped cashews.