October 11, 2020
My favorite time of the year is finally here. The arrival of fall can only mean three things – comfort food, cozy sweaters, and college football. I’m already beginning to enjoy comfort food and cozy sweaters, but I’ll need to wait a little longer before I can enjoy my third favorite thing, college football. Football season is a huge deal in the Midwest (especially Ohio). We all wait the entire year for football season to begin in the fall. Even though the weather is getting colder and colder each day, I still can’t help but to squeeze in more green smoothies. I’ve been making green smoothies almost daily throughout the summer. They are an absolute staple in my breakfast routine and helps me get in a few servings of fruits and veggies right away in the morning. I’ve been playing around with mixing and matching different ingredients into my green smoothies. Versions of my green smoothies included fruits and juices of peaches, mangoes, pineapples, apples, bananas blended along with spinach and kale. My favorite iteration of green smoothie is my version featuring tons of chopped kale, frozen banana, peach slices, and enough apple juice to get my desired consistency. All of these ingredients are tossed into a blender and whizzed together until everything is combined and smooth. Once the blender has done its job, I end up with the most beautiful bright green smoothie. The flavors of the peach paired with the apple juice definitely comes through. The banana adds the perfect texture and sweetness. The kale helps me feel better about getting my daily servings of veggies. Of course, just drinking a smoothie is not enough for breakfast. I also needed something else to go with my smoothie. If Kevin had his way, he would be enjoying a full American breakfast every morning. I, however, prefer some carb-y goodness to go along with my smoothie. My latest addiction has been a new twist on my usual go-to breakfast/brunch/snack – scallion pancakes. Scallion pancakes were a staple in my breakfast routine growing up. My family loved scallion pancakes so much, they would buy packs of frozen scallion pancakes from the local Asian grocery store to stock up in the freezer. When hunger strikes, they would grab one piece of frozen scallion pancake, pop the pancake into a large frying pan or toaster oven, and warm up the scallion pancake. In just a few minutes, the steaming hot scallion pancake is ready for eating. Mom’s all-purpose sauce (a combination of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar) was almost always served on the side. Overtime, I’ve swapped in a variety of sauces to go with my scallion pancakes including a chimichurri soy dip, a cilantro scallion soy dip, and even a maple soy dip. This time though, I served up an easy yogurt ranch dressing to go along with my cilantro chive pancakes. My new favorite version of savory pancakes features tons of freshly chopped cilantro and thinly sliced chives weaved into flaky layers of pancakes. These pancakes came together very quickly and are most definitely addictive. I had to watch myself to make sure I did not eat too many of them.
For my favorite green smoothies:
· 2 large kale leaves, roughly chopped
· 1 frozen banana
· 1 peach, cut into slices
· 1 cup apple juice
For the cilantro chive pancakes:
· 2½ cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading and rolling dough
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup lukewarm water
· 3 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
· 3 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped
· 8-10 stalks chives, very thinly sliced, plus additional for garnishing
· 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, plus additional for garnishing (optional)
· 4-8 tablespoons of vegetable oil, for frying
For the yogurt ranch dip:
· 2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
· 2 stalks chives (or scallions), thinly sliced
· 1-2 sprigs fresh dill, roughly chopped
· ¼ teaspoon dried minced garlic
· ¼ teaspoon dried minced onion
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ teaspoon paprika
· ¼ cup low fat yogurt
· 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
· ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Directions:
To make the green smoothies:
1) In a blender, add the chopped kale leaves, frozen banana, peach slices, and apple juice. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
To make the cilantro chive pancakes:
1) In a large bowl, combine the flour and kosher salt. Gradually add the lukewarm water. Mix all ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead the dough in the bowl for about 3 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil to coat the dough. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes before you begin rolling out the pancakes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
*While the dough is resting, prepare the yogurt ranch dipping sauce by following the instructions below.*
2) Lightly flour a working surface or cutting board. Roll the dough out into a large circle. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough in half vertically, then horizontally, and finally diagonally until you form eight equal pieces. Divide the eight pieces in half again until you form sixteen equal pieces. Roll each of the triangular pieces into balls. Set aside.
3)In a small bowl, mix the remaining two teaspoons of sesame oil with three tablespoons of vegetable oil. Lightly dust a working surface or cutting board with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll out each piece of dough into a flat round circle. Brush on a thin coat of oil mixture. Add some chopped cilantro, a sprinkle of sliced chives and sesame seeds. Roll the flattened dough into a log. Twist the log into a circle. Use your rolling pin to flatten the circle into a pancake shape. Repeat the process with the remaining dough pieces.
4) Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Add one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry one or two pancakes at a time until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining vegetable oil and pancakes. Let the pancakes stand for about a minute. Cut into wedges and garnish with chives and sesame seeds before serving.
To make the yogurt ranch dip:
1) In a bowl, combine the chopped parsley, chives, dill, garlic, onion, kosher salt, sugar, black pepper, paprika, yogurt, vegetable oil, and Dijon mustard. Stir until all ingredients are well combined.
Takeaways: If making the smoothies, cilantro chive pancakes, and dip, start with the pancakes and dip first, and then blend up the smoothies right before serving. For another spin on my favorite green smoothie, try swapping out the apple juice for pineapple juice or passionfruit mango juice. For classic scallion pancakes, check out my scallion pancakes recipe. They are at their best when served immediately with one of my favorite sauce (chimichurri soy dip, cilantro scallion soy dip, or maple soy dip).
I also blanched some green beans and whipped up a simple peanut sauce to serve alongside the smoothies, pancakes, and dip. What can I say? I needed even more sustenance.