Tasty Tourism Series-Europe

With recipes from Italy, Scotland, Greece and Spain, you could probably say that I've already 'done Europe'. However, this continent has so much diversity (culinary and otherwise) that no 'tasty tourism' series would be complete without at least one post dedicated to it. So, here it is. Since one of my favorite meals is breakfast, here are two variations on the pancake from Iceland and Russia.

Pönnukökur (Icelandic pancakes)-makes 24

2 cups milk

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

4 eggs

½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the baking soda, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl until well mixed. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Then, whisk the two mixtures together and add the milk and butter to form a smooth batter, light batter.

Now, melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat and pour in enough batter to create a thin layer.

Cook each side until it is lightly browned. Since these pancakes are going to be very thin and crepe-like when finished, you can fill them with fruit or icing and serve them in the same way.

For another, more-easily-pronounceable version:

Blini (Russian Pancakes)-makes 32

5 eggs

4 ¼ cups milk

4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup butter, divided

1/3 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon citric acid powder (can also use the juice of ½ a lemon)

1 cup boiling water

Beat the milk and eggs together. Add in the salt, sugar, baking soda and citric acid (or substitute) and stir until well-mixed. Now, blend in the flour. Add the oil and boiling water, stirring continuously. The batter is going to be pretty thin, so set the bowl aside and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat in a small pan. Remove from heat and pour in a ladleful of the batter. Rotate your wrist and tilt the pan so that the batter forms a circle and coats the bottom of the pan. Now, put the pan back on the heat and cook for about 90 seconds. When it's fully cooked, there should be brown spots on the surface and golden color on the edges. Flip and cook an additional minute. When you are finished, stack about 4 of them on top of each other, add the filling of your choice and fold them into a triangular shape. I've mostly seen them used with fruit, but savory flavors work too.

I know 24 and 32 pancakes seems like a lot but, since they are so thin, it really isn't. They can be used for breakfast or dessert. Personally, I think they would be great with some warm cinnamon apples or strawberry compote, inside or out. Either way, they should be a big hit! Enjoy!