{recipe} Ham and Cheese Pancakes

I love sweet, buttery, maple-drenched pancakes–for about one or two bites. After that, I want salt! Luckily, this problem is easy to solve. Simply add ham and cheese to the inside of a fluffy buttermilk pancake, and you have a nearly perfect breakfast.

The trick to keeping the ham and cheese inside the pancake, but with enough cheese outside to get a crispy edge, is to drizzle a little batter over the filling while it’s cooking.

First, in a buttered pan, spoon out the batter and spread it into a large circle. Top with diced ham and a healthy handful of grated cheese. The cheese will help lock the ham in place.

Then, drizzle more batter across the ham and cheese. The batter will help lock both the ham and the cheese in place.

When the batter forms bubbles, the pancake is ready to flip over. Once cooked through, there will be no dough or cheese sticking to pan – just a perfect pancake that’s crisp and lightly browned on the outside, and studded with ham and gooey melted cheese on the inside.

In Amsterdam, it’s common to eat pancakes (pannekoeken) for dinner. They are about the size of a dinner plate, and come with all kinds of savory options, like bacon, onions, salmon, and so forth. The pancakes are more like a crepe than a fluffy American pancake. Eating savory, salty pancakes for dinner is one of my favorite things about Amsterdam. If you can’t make it to the Netherlands, but find yourself in Vancouver, Canada, you can try a branch of the De Dutch chain of pannekoek houses. They do a reasonably good job of re-creating the art form!

Recipe: Ham and Cheese Pancakes
makes 6 large pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• about 1 cup diced ham
• about 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I prefer cheddar, but you can use whatever kind you like)
• butter for the pan

METHOD:

•  Stir together flour, salt, and baking powder.
• Add milk, buttermilk, and egg and stir well with an eggbeater or whisk until there are no lumps.
• Cover and let rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
• To make the pancakes, heat about 1/2 Tblsp butter in a nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium high heat.
• Add about 1/3 cup batter and smooth out with ladle or spoon to make a circle.
• Sprinkle with a few Tblsp of ham and about 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
• Drizzle with a bit more batter over the top (as shown above.)
• When the batter forms large bubbles, flip the pancake over.
• When cooked through, remove to a plate. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven or tent the plate with foil while you make the remaining pancakes.
• Use additional butter for every pancake or every other pancake.
• Serve hot with butter and syrup.