One night, after another busy and successful day, I was laying in the bed and watching some series. Suddenly, I couldn't focus on the entertainment anymore, since a new recipe idea occurred to my mind. Beet. Crunchy raw beet. Tangy leeks. Juicy apple. Soury tomato. Something was missing...mayonnaise! Rich and thick mayonnaise. I could already feel all these flavors and textures in my mouth. And of course, this beet salad had to be wrapped into pancakes. When I had a chance to finally try this combination in real life, it was 100 % exactly how I imagined and hoped it would be. Absolutely amazing! I just ate the salad with a big tablespoon but then it occurred to me I have to save some for the pancakes too.
So here is this fabulous recipe. And it just happens to arrive just in time and just in right color for the Valentine's. Isn't bright pink beet just gorgeous? I strongly recommend to grate it with a coarse box grater. It will be so much juicier and more flavorful that way. I almost always use a coarse grater, since very thinly grated veggies are like baby food for me. And there is so much difference when grating your veggies with a box grater or using a food processor. The last one will make the veggies much more dry and suck out some flavors. So a good old coarse box grater is almost always the best choice for having the juiciest veggies.
I'm also quite surprised that I have been using more apples in my salads. Just some time ago, I didn't dig that combo at all. Putting apples into a potato salad? Yuck! But now I even add some apple slices to my pasta salad sometimes. In some cases, sweet and juicy apples can give that extra edge to some dishes. Especially in this crunchy and creamy beet salad which goes so well with soft pancakes. Of course I used homemade mayo in this salad. It will bind all the veggies so nicely together. So Valentine's or not, these pancakes will definitely make your day more colorful and tastier.
Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 9 pancakes
Ingredients:
For the pancake batter:
- 2 cups / 300 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 ½ cup / 600 ml water or plant milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
For the beet salad:
- 2 medium raw beets (16 oz / 450 g)
- 1 medium apple
- 1 medium tomato
- 3 heaped Tbsp chopped leeks
- 6 heaped Tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Directions:
Make the pancake batter: mix the dry ingredients and then mix in the wet ingredients. Whisk until smooth. Leave the batter to rest until you make the beet salad.
Peel and grate the beets with a coarse box grater. Peel the apple, remove the core and cut the apple into slices. Cut the tomato into cubes. Mix all the salad ingredients together.
Now it's time to bake the pancakes. If you want to be extra quick, you can use two pans at the same time. Pour a little bit oil into a hot pan. Ladle some batter into the pan. Tilt the pan, so the batter will be spread evenly. Bake the pancakes on both sides until slightly golden brown. Serve with beet salad.