Pannekaker

Not to be confused with Pannekoeken.

I promised more savory on this site and even though today’s recipe contains its share of eggs, flour, butter, and sugar, I feel comfortable placing it under the savory section in my recipe box.

Pannekaker, or Norwegian pancakes, rank right up there with hot dogs and spaghetti as every Norwegian child’s favorite dinner. Although I know a certain American 4-year-old who loves these puppies doused with maple syrup for breakfast, pannekaker are, by definition, a weekday dinner in Norway. In contrast to American pancakes, pannekaker are thinner (but not as thin as Swedish pancakes), and far eggier (half an egg in each cake!), making them rollable, bendable, and the perfect vessel for holding a scoop or two of diced smoky bacon. Chop up some bacon, cook it in your skillet until nice and crispy, then save the bacon grease to cook your pancakes. Of course, if you want to sweeten them up a bit, you can top them with some jam (I recommend lingonberry or blueberry) and some sour cream or crème fraiche instead.

Although I can easily pass up a hot dog or spaghetti dinner, a dinner of pannekaker always hits the spot- especially on a cold or rainy day. The Swedes are known to eat their pancakes alongside bowls of split pea soup, which is also something the Norwegians have come to pick up and I find to be strangely addicting. However, if you’re short of time or short of energy, a one bowl, one skillet meal of pancakes is plenty satisfying on its own.

 

Pannekaker

Norwegian Pancakes

*Recipe serves 2-3 and can be doubled

(Make the pancakes any size you please, but we generally end up with about 8 medium-large pancakes. Norwegian pancakes are generally not as thin as a Swedish pancake, although they should still be thin enough to roll up and dip into your pea soup or wrapped around the salt pork, bacon, or lingonberries with cream).

 

1 1/2 cups (200 g) All-Purpose flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups (3.5 dl) milk, preferably whole

2 Tablespoons melted butter

 

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, and melted butter, stirring with a fork or a whisk for a light, lump-free batter. Allow to rest at room temp. for at least 30 minutes before ladling your batter into a well-seasoned, preferably cast iron pan. *There is no need to use any additional butter in the pan to fry, if the pan is well seasoned. Otherwise, use a small amount of butter or a little bacon grease in between frying your pancakes.

Comments

[Sassy Molassy]

Mmm...I'll take a nice big plate for breakfast tomorrow please!

[Norwegiancaveman]

We always eat it with tomato soup:)