Happy National Pancake Day! Getting Outside the Box…

Happy National Pancake Day everyone!!!

We LOVE pancakes! As an Israeli I discovered the world of (traditional) pancakes a little later in life… I mean, we fried crepes, eggs and patties of all sorts, but the actual flour-egg based batter that is fried into thick pancakes and served along with syrup… that wasn’t a big part of our Tunisian cuisine or Israeli cuisine. Nowadays, I make pancakes often and we usually keep it traditional with chocolate chips and maple syrup dripping everywhere… 🙂 However, I see today as a great opportunity to cook pancakes “outside the box”…

Two ways to “Get Outside the Box”:

Number one – When making pancakes forget about boxes or pancake mix…the ingredients are so basic and simple that it is always worth it to combine them on your own and know exactly what you put in them.
Number two – Pancakes are a great way to express your inner self! Today, I think they’ll be able to represent me well and in a very yummy way 🙂 My Israeli-Tunisian-American background influences me to create three types of pancakes… 1. The American Chocolate Chip Pancake served with traditional maple syrup 2. The Israeli Halva-Pistachio Pancake served with Silan, raw Tahini sauce and pistachios 3. The Tunisian Orange-Semolina Pancake served with ‘Asal’ – Tunisian citrus Rose Syrup…

In honor of this Pancake Day, I was asked to make pancakes at my children’s school! I’m super excited and I’m coming with these three types of pancake flavors… We are going to let the children vote and let us know which pancake they like the best… 🙂 I will keep you posted with the results!

You will need:

	American Pancake	Israeli Pancake	Tunisian Pancake
Ingredients:	2 Eggs	2 Eggs	2 Eggs
	1 tsp. Vanilla Paste	1 tsp. Vanilla Paste	1 tsp. Vanilla Paste
	½ cup Sugar	⅓ cup Sugar 2 tbsp. Honey	½ cup Sugar
	⅔ cup Ricotta	⅔ cup Greek Yogurt	⅔ cup Ricotta
	½ cup Milk	½ cup Milk	¼ cup Almond Milk ¼ cup Orange Juice
	2 tbsp. melted Butter	2 tbsp. Raw Tahini	2 tbsp. Canola Oil
	1½ cup Flour	1½ cup Flour	1 cup Flour ½ cup Semolina
	1 tbsp. Baking Powder	1 tbsp. Baking Powder	1 tbsp. Baking Powder
	Pinch of Salt	Pinch of Salt	Pinch of Salt
Add On:	Chocolate Chips	Halva Crumbs	Orange Zest (1-2 tsp.)
Served with:	Maple Syrup Powdered Sugar	Silan (Date Syrup) & Raw Tahini Pistachios	‘Asal’ (Tunisian Syrup), Rose Petals Sliced Almonds

For the ‘Asal’ Syrup:

¾ cup Sugar

1½ tbsp. Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)

½ cup Water

1 DROP Rose Extract

Let’s get to work!

First, we are combining the “wet ingredients”, so start with two eggs.

Whisk them well while gradually adding the sugar.

Add vanilla paste (or extract).

Greek yogurt is perfect for “Israeli Pancakes”

Next add the ricotta cheese (or Greek yogurt) and whisk to combine.

Mixing batter for “Israeli Pancakes”

Add milk and melted butter and whisk well. If you are making the “Tunisian Pancakes”, add the orange zest to the “wet ingredients”.

Tehina (or Tahini) is the oil effect in the “Israeli Pancakes”.

Time for the “dry ingredients”: I like to sift them in to avoid lumps in the batter.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. If you are making the “Tunisian pancake” this is also the time to add the semolina.

Mix to a unified batter.

The batter is ready! Heat a pancake griddle or a flat nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add a thin coat of butter to the griddle.

Scoop the batter onto the griddle. Add chocolate chips, Halva crumbs, blueberries or any “add on” you like.

Push the chocolate chips or the Halva crumbs into the pancake and make sure the batter covers them or at least most of them. It gets messy when the chocolate chips or the Halva crumbs touch the cooking surface directly when flipping the pancakes.

Cook the first side for one to two minutes and then flip carefully to the other side and cook for another minute.

Both sides should be golden brown. Serve the pancakes while hot; if you are not serving right away, cover them lightly and keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to serve.

The “Tunisian Pancakes” are served with traditional syrup called ‘Asal’. This is how to make ‘Asal’:

In a small saucepan combine sugar, lemon and water. Cook on medium heat and stir to allow the sugar to dissolve. Bring to a gentle boil.

The syrup will start coming together once it starts forming small bubbles and becomes slightly sticky. Check the syrup texture between your fingers or on a spatula. Once the ‘Asal’ is ready and the heat is off, add ONE DROP of rose extract and mix it in. If you are using EXTRACT (vs. rose water) don’t be tempted to add any more than one drop. Rose extract is very powerful and even one more drop of it can make you feel like you are eating perfume…