Cottage Pancakes

To those of you who aren't cauliflower fans, yes, you can absolutely leave out the cauliflower. Or swap in an comparable amount of any the following: blanched nettles, broccoli, or spinach. With the spinach or nettles - blanch quickly in salted boiling water, drain well, and chop (nearly) into a paste.

1 cup / 7 oz / 200g cottage cheese
3/4 cup / 180 ml milk
4 room temperature eggs, separated
1 cup / 4 oz / 115g raw (or quickly blanched) cauliflower, chopped into rice-sized bits

1/2 cup / 75 g whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup / 75 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

butter, for cooking

In a large bowl mix the cottage cheese, milk, and egg yolks until smooth. Stir in the cauliflower.

In a separate (clean) bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

Sift the flours, baking powder, and salt into another bowl. Add the flours to the cottage cheese mixture, and stir until just barely(!) combined. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a spatula.

To cook, warm a griddle or pan over medium heat, melt a bit of butter in it, then spoon a little scoop (say, ~3 tablespoons) of batter into the pan for each pancake, working in batches. You want to cook these relatively slowly, until each pancake is deeply golden on one side. Flip each pancake, and wait until the other side is golden, and the pancake is cooked through. Continue until you've worked through all the batter. You can keep cooked pancakes in a 225F oven until you finish, to keep them warm. They're great simply with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of salt. Or, if you want to get a bit fancy, whip up a bit of harissa, saffron or pesto-swirled salted yogurt.

Makes ~1 1/2 dozen medium pancakes.

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 15 min