Why Mangelwurzel Linnercakes? if you look at the image of the batter below, you will see why I had the urge to be fanciful. (I hated the Barbie movie, which is why these are not called Barbie-cakes.)
Obviously these are not made of mangelwurzel, which is served to cattle, but rather their edible-to-humans cousin beets, but mangelwurzel linnercakes sounds a lot more interesting and fairytale-like than the inspiration recipe's title of beet and chia seed pancakes, whose healthy connotations might be off-putting to some.
As for the "linnercakes" moniker, when my son was little he wanted to know why there was breakfast, brunch and dinner, but not lunch, linner and dinner. This stuck with me, and I now think of any dinner that I eat on the early side as linner.
I made this twice. First, using the original recipe and served as above, and it was very good, but it committed what is for me one of the cardinal mistakes of American cuisine -- taking something that is already sweet and making it sweeter. Why do American recipes always add brown sugar or maple syrup to ingredients like beets, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes?
Anyway, I adapted the inspiration recipe below so that it would be a savory dish, and served it -- as illustrated below --with generous amounts of my leftover "Spices of India" Sauce and a garnish of sauteed oyster mushrooms and leeks, along with a plain green salad.
When I make it next, I will serve the pancakes with a dollop of sour cream and perhaps a bit of prepared horseradish, a thought which made me think that these fuchsia-hued pancakes could be a good Valentine's Day breakfast in bed or midnight snack recipe or, come to think of it, with sour cream and some chopped dill for a holiday brunch with Christmas colors.
Makes 8 large pancakes
1/2 cup puréed roasted beets (I used some coffee roasted beets, but feel free to roast your own beets, plain, or even whizz some precooked ones from the grocery store in your blender)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsps chia seeds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
Enough vegetable oil to lightly grease a non-stick pan
Measure all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Measure all of the wet ingredients into another bowl, separating the egg as you do and putting the white in a separate small bowl until needed. Whisk all of the wet ingredients together before adding them to the dry ingredients and whisking them together well.
Set aside for 15 minutes for the chia seeds to rehydrate before whisking in the egg white. No need to beat it into soft peaks or anything like that, just adding it to the mixture at the end will make the pancakes even fluffier. I don't know scientifically why, but it does.
Add a film of oil to a large non-stick pan and, as soon as the pan is hot, add generous and equal-sized amounts of batter to the hot pan, each a little less than a quarter cup. Work in batches and do not crowd the pan.
Cook over medium heat for about two minutes until bubbles are forming on the sides of the pancakes, before gingerly flipping them over and cooking them for an additional two minutes on the other side. Repeat as needed.
Inspiration recipe, here.