Spinach Pancakes and Cranberry Jam

Yes you heard correct - pancakes can well be savoury! Spinach pancakes is a common dish at Finnish schools where the food is free from primary school all the way until university where is's government subsidised. 

Food is not only one of the most important joys of life, it's a way to gain energy for the body and the brains, share love, try something new and of course most importantly enjoy the taste of life! For me even food can look pretty and visually appealing. Presenting food in a nice way makes it taste much better ;) Moreover, food is a great way to bring back memories. I felt like having something Finnish and eating these pancakes brought me back to my school days!

These spinach pancakes are packed with iron and good carbs to give you strength for the challenges of the day. First you need to prepare the sweet&bitter cranberry jam. 

Mix 3 tablespoons of chia seeds with 1 dl of water. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes or until the seeds have 'jellified'. Mix the jelly with a handful of grated cranberries, or alternatively use a blender. Add in honey to taste, about 2-4 tablespoons depending on how sweet you want your jam to be. Place the ready jam in the fridge to wait.

Here is what you need for the pancakes:

• 1 cup white quinoa + 2 cups water
• 1.5 cups grated pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• a large handful of spinach
• 1.5-2 cups rolled oats
• fresh or coarsed parsley, black pepper, salt to taste
• butter or oil for frying

First cook the quinoa in 2 cups of lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Pulse the pumpkin in a blender and then add rest of the ingredients. If you don't own a blender, grate the pumpkin and spinach until fine, then mix with other ingredients. The mixture should be thick enough to be shaped into patties. If it's not thick enough, add more oats.

Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oil or butter in a large pan, adding enough so that the patties will not stick to the pan. Form the mixture into pancakes in your hands and fry about 4 pancakes at a time. Fry for about 3 minutes per side.

Enjoy with your homemade cranberry jam!

Sidenote: After happily eating my pancakes I noticed that my quinoa package is full of tiny tiny Singapore ants running around. Lovely. Should have named the post 'Spinach Pancakes with an Anty Crunch'. 

X Ang Moh Chick