Pancake all'Italiana

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Fluffy pancakes with Giffoni hazelnuts and Saba

Udine, Italy

One of those early-September rainy Sundays, that smell already like fall. Wet leaves, wet ground, temperature lowers. When you wake up, the familiar feeling of I-am-better-under-the-blanket comes back, that feeling that will accompany you all the way through fall and winter.

In a couple of days I am going back to Paris, where, I bet, fall will already stand at the doors of the city. Yellow leaves will start to fall in the Palais Royal, my neighbour market of Batignolles will show squashes and pumpkins of any size and colour...delicious ! 

But before going too far in fall and start craving for butternut soup, let's go back to today: I woke up craving for a stack of fluffy pancakes. This has nothing to do with a typical Italian dish but I decided to give this american classic a twist from Il Bel Paese. 

The basic recipe is very simple, it's the same as traditional pancakes: 

Serves 4 people

  • 300 grams of flour ( I use half wholemeal flour) - if you are gluten-intolerant use 200g rice flour + 100g buckwheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder or baking soda
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 2 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can use kefir, plain yoghurt or even put 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in 2 cups of milk)
  • 1/2cup whole milk
  • 10tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • Coconut oil for frying

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk and milk. Add the melted butter and whisk until smooth.

Pour the yolk and milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until they are combined and there are no lumps left. Add the egg whites and stir just until a thick batter is formed. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, gently wipe with a paper towel or a brush imbued in coconut oil (if you don't like the taste, use a neutral oil such as canola or peanut oil). Use a soup spoon to drop in heaping spoonfuls of pancake batter.

Cook your pancakes for about 2 1/2 minutes, depending on the size of the pancake. I prefer small, round pancakes but my brother prefers a huge pancake that makes the size of the pan! When the bubbles that form on the edges of the pancakes look dry and airy, use a thin spatula to lift one side and peek underneath. when the pancake is golden brown, flip and cook on the other side for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown.

...And here comes the italian twist!

To serve, I used Saba instead of Maple syrup. What is it? It is something you must have in your pantry shelf !! Saba — also known as sapa, vin cotto or mosto cotto — is a syrup made from cooking down grape must. it looks a lot like balsamic, but the taste is slightly different and you can really taste the flavour of the grapes. The grapes were harvested by peasants in the early days and made into wine for royalty. The remaining must was cooked in copper kettles for 30 hours or more as it reduced to a thick syrupy consistency. It was then put into barrels and kegs for several years before it was ready for use.

Aside from being great on pancakes, It’s perfect as an accompaniment to desserts: on ice cream, fruits, biscuits, panna cotta. You can drizzle some on Parmigiano Reggiano or Gorgonzola or Caciocavallo to dress up a cheese plate ( In Italy we love serving cheese with fruits, nuts, honey, marmalades, etc. ). Saba is an awesome addition to sauces, too. When I come visit my parents in Italy they often don't have soy sauce in their pantry shelves so I use saba to prepare marinades for meat, brochettes, game, duck etc. 

This time I also added another italian treasure, Giffoni hazelnuts. The Nocciola di Giffoni PGI (protected geographic indication), belongs to one of the most precious Italian varieties: Tonda di Giffoni. This variety is massively cultivated in the area around Salerno since the Middle Ages, while its history goes as far back as the Roman Age. Climate conditions and volcanic soil ( le terroir !!) in Campania have generated a regular, even fruit, perfect for snacks but also as a main ingredient of a broad range of delicacies. Its persistent aroma and consistency make it ideal for flavor-enhancing toasting.

Per finire, as we say in Italy, I decided to balance a bit all of that sweetness and fluffyness with a little carpaccio of marinated peaches, with lemon zests and tiny basil leaves. This is the very end of the peaches season at my parent's organic farm, and the flavour is just perfect. Time for compotes, strudels, crumbles and jam before they are finished !