Sweet Potato, Orange and Buttermilk Pancakes

Often my ideas stem from an item or two that I have on hand that needs to be used.  I don’t like wasting anything, plus it gives me a fun challenge to try and figure out how to utilize that particular ingredient (and, as you already know, I love challenges!)

So the question of today:  If you had one lonely sweet potato and one lonely orange, what would you make?  Share your ideas!

My first thought, they’re both the same color.  Second thought, they’re both sweet.  So I knew I wanted to make something that was all-over sweet.  I not only wanted to use the juice from the orange, but I wanted to take advantage of all that tasty fresh orange zest as well.  Not knowing yet what I was going to make, I started looking for my zester.  It wasn’t where it was supposed to be (does that ever happen in your home?).  I finally found it in another kitchen cabinet – my husband had put it there (who else, right?).  As fate would have it, it happened to be next to the maple syrup.  Perfect!  We were going to have breakfast for dinner.  (Sometimes that’s what really hits the spot, isn’t it?)  Specifically, we were going to have Sweet Potato, Orange and Buttermilk Pancakes.  And they needed to be soft and airy.  They needed to be puffy.

“Excuse me, Miss?  We’ll take 4 orders, please.”  (The 4th one’s for our baby, but that just gives us solid-food-eaters an excuse to eat more :)

I wanted to maintain some contrast in color and texture, so instead of pureeing the sweet potato I decided to cook and shred it.  Nice orange-colored \ speckles of sweet potato and orange zest mixed throughout a golden-colored batter…perfect.

First peel the sweet potato or yam and cut it into thick slices.  Place the pieces in a collapsible steamer in a pan of 1-inch deep boiling water.  Cover and steam just until tender, 5-7 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until cold.  Then use the large holes of a grater to shred the sweet potato.  Reserve 1 cup of grated sweet potato for this recipe.

Zest an orange and reserve 2 teaspoons of the zest.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger.

Add the buttermilk, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and orange zest to the flour mixture.

Whisk the mixture just until blended.  Some lumps will remain, and that’s okay.  We want the batter light and airy.

Gently fold in 1 cup of grated sweet potato or yam until combined.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and spray with vegetable spray.  Scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake and place them one inch apart.  Cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to form on the top and the bottoms are golden brown.  Flip the pancakes and cook the other side until golden brown. Keep the cooked pancakes in a warmed oven while you make the rest.

Serve with warmed maple syrup.  Makes 4 servings.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Sweet Potato and Orange Pancakes

 

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: The Daring Gourmet, www.daringgourmet.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato or yam, about ½ lb
• 1 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. First peel the sweet potato or yam and cut it into thick slices. Place the pieces in a collapsible steamer in a pan of 1-inch deep boiling water. Cover and steam just until tender, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until cold. Then use the large holes of a grater to shred the sweet potato. Reserve 1 cup of grated sweet potato for this recipe.
2. Zest an orange and reserve 2 teaspoons of the zest. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger.
3. Add the buttermilk, eggs, butter, vanilla extract and orange zest to the flour mixture. Whisk the mixture just until blended. Some lumps will remain, and that's okay. We want the batter light and airy.
4. Gently fold in 1 cup of grated sweet potato or yam until combined.
5. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and spray with vegetable spray. Scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake and place them one inch apart. Cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to form on the top and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the pancakes and cook the other side until golden brown. Keep the cooked pancakes in a warmed oven while you make the rest.
6. Serve with warmed maple syrup.

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