Potato and Dried Seaweed Flakes Pancake 馬鈴薯海苔煎餅

One big whole serving of savory pancake has been a thing for me lately. Since I haven't make such food for years, I can't believe I forgot how easy and hassle free it is. Literally, I mean literally you just mix all the ingredients together, pour them to the pan and just sear till slightly browned on both sides. 

And it's hard to go wrong with all sorts of savory pancake. Well, only if you messed up the consistency of the batter, but even that it's usually kind of hard to go wrong. Give it a try once and you'll know what I mean.

Potato and dried seaweed flakes pancake 馬鈴薯海苔煎餅 - 

Ingredients?

• 2 medium potatoes
• 4 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
• 4 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

How?

Peel and grate the potatoes into strips, I actually hand-cut it myself, quite some work there. Add the potato strips to a container filled with water, preferably drinking water. Let it soak for 10 minutes.

After some time, you'll start to see some starch being released to the water. Pour that out. Dry and maybe use a paper towel to future remove any moisture from the potato strips. Transfer to another clean and dry container.

From there, also add in 4 tablespoons of dried seaweed flakes, 1 1/2 tablespoons of toasted white sesame seeds, 4 tablespoons of corn starch, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix till evenly blended.

Bring out a round and flat pan, drizzle about 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium heat. Wait till warm then pour in the potato batter. Even the batter out to create consistent thickness throughout. 

Sear till the bottom turns slightly browned then flip and sear the other side till the same.

Once ready, invert the pancake to a serving plate. You can pre-slice them to triangular pieces if preferred. I simply like to tear and eat along the way.

The seasoning listed should be enough, especially if you're going to enjoy the potato pancake with some ketchup on the side. So keep that in mind if some sort of dipping sauce will be involved. That means don't over-season the batter in the beginning.

Chopped Kale and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Chicken in Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing

Was it a trend or something? Have you noticed that our "regular" salad has become much more vibrant and packed with nutrients, colors, and actual portion these few years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here. Instead, I'm embracing the change. 

Have a big full serving of healthy but also delicious salad as a normal meal is now something I do once a while. So after trying many versions of nutritious salads at the restaurants, I've taken some inspirations here and there and came up with this recipe.

Chopped kale and chickpea salad with roasted chicken in red wine vinaigrette dressing - 

Ingredients (about two big servings)?

• 1/2 can or 120 grams chickpeas
• 1 chicken breast
• 80 grams kale (about one small bundle)
• 1 small chunk red cabbage
• 1/2 medium small broccoli
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/3 cup or 28 grams dried cranberries 
• 1/4 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
• 1 avocado
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How?  

Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsious/390 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Destem and remove the pith and seeds from the yellow bell pepper. Cut to medium thickness strips. We will need about half of the yellow bell pepper for the salad. Transfer the strips to one side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Toss till blended.

To the other half of the baking sheet, transfer the chicken breast over. Season both sides with some salt and black pepper. Also rub with 1/4 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs. 

Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. You'll know it's ready when the edge of the yellow bell pepper strips start to turn slightly charred.

Once done baking, remove the sheet from the oven and let cool. After the temperature drops and able to handle by hand, slice the chicken breast to big bite size pieces.

As for the broccoli, trim-off the tougher outside layer for the stem then cut the whole thing to medium pieces. We will only need about half of the broccoli here. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in one small pinch of salt. Transfer the broccoli chunks over and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Use the leafy part for the kale only, chop to smaller pieces. Slice the red cabbage to thin strips.

Bring out a big container, add in the yellow bell pepper, kale, broccoli, red cabbage, drained chickpeas, and dried cranberries.

Also have a big cup ready, in there we're going to mix together 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of alt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Pour most of that dressing to the big container with veggies. Toss till evenly blended.

Arrange the vegetables to serving plate. Halve the avocado and remove the seed. Slice then lay on top of the salad. Also lay the roasted chicken on top too. Drizzle the remaining red wine vinaigrette dressing all over.

I only used half of the avocado here for the picture. Later on I simply mixed in the other half of the avocado. Leftover red cabbage or yellow bell pepper are easy to utilize, but better just finish the entire avocado right away.

It's a shame that I didn't find silvered almonds anywhere, otherwise sprinkle some on top of the salad sounds like a really healthy and delicious idea. Should look even better too.

Extended reading:

• White bean and tuna salad (insalata di tonno e fagioli)
• Japanese katsuo tataki salad with miso and ponzu dressing
• Persimmon salad with mozzarella and Jamón Ibérico