I grew onions in my garden this year. Well... let me rephrase that. I tried to grow onions in my garden this year. They never really "grew". And then I lost interest, or got busy... or honestly, got fed up with the squirrels terrorizing and feeding off of my garden. I just don't think I was born with a green thumb whatsoever.
The only thing I managed to snag from the garden this year, besides an ongoing supply of lettuce, were some early green onions.
When I buy them from the store, I can never use up the entire bunch. I'll use a couple for garnish and then forget about the rest of them. And the same thing was starting to happen with the ones I picked from the garden. So instead of letting them go to waste, I decided to use a whole bunch in some scallion pancakes. Something I've always wanted to try to make, but always put on the back burner.
And I don't know why, because they're so easy and they make a great little snack when paired with a spicy soy sauce!
Ingredients:
Adapted from Kirbie's Craving's Recipe
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups boiling water
olive oil, for brushing
sesame oil, for brushing
salt, to taste
about 8-12 scallions, chopped
In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat and all purpose flour with the boiling water. Knead until a pliable dough is formed, adding more flour or water if necessary.
Since I used whole wheat flour, I had to knead for a little bit for my dough to become elastic enough to use - maybe 10-15 minutes? Of course, a mixer with a dough hook would be useful here, but I keep it old school because I don't have one of those fancy schmancy mixers (until Christmas! My mom spilled the beans and said she was getting us/me one!).
Divide the dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll the dough as thin as you can, without it breaking.
Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil on top of each circle, and then drizzle with a very small amount of sesame oil (a little goes a long way!). Mix oils together and massage into the dough until covered. Sprinkle with salt and a good amount of the scallions (remember, you have to do this 7 more times, so don't go too crazy with it!).
Roll the dough into a long rope (Kirbie's Cravings does a great photo tutorial on this, so check it out if you have questions) and then coil the rope into a circle. Flatting with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness - this ensures that the scallions get evenly distributed throughout the pancake.
Repeat this process with remaining pieces of dough.
Heat a nonstick skillet under medium heat and add one pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 1 & 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip over, and cook an additional minute or so.
Repeat with remaining pancakes.
Cut into triangles and serve with a spicy soy sauce (simple soy sauce with red pepper flakes and some grated ginger).
These make a great snack that feed a decent amount of people! I've even used them as a wrap for Asian-inspired wraps (Bulgogi wraps?!).
Have a great Friday guys! I've got my first Culinary Theory class tonight and the lab tomorrow - I'll have a chef's uniform by tomorrow morning! So exciting!!
