Cabbage and Mushroom Pancakes

I’ve made versions of these crispy, delicate little fried cabbage pancakes at restaurants and in my very own home, where they are a breakfast staple. I’ve often watched my mom bulk them up with canned salmon and loads of the week’s forgotten vegetables. We’d eat them over bowls of hot grits or rice. To me, they are reminiscent of okonomiyaki (loosely translated as “grilled as you like it”), a popular savory pancake from southern Japan. I like to drizzle Spicy Sorghum-Miso Mustard (page 110) over them.

Makes 4 pancakes

INGREDIENTS

• 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour

  Our South: Black Food Through My Lens Ashleigh Shanti

• 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons white miso paste

• 2 cups buttermilk

• 1 cup shredded green cabbage

• 1 cup shredded red cabbage

• 1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms

• 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil

For Serving

• Honey

• Chopped scallions

• Toasted benne seeds

• Flaky salt

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder. In a large bowl, vigorously beat the eggs and miso into the buttermilk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk to combine evenly. Add the green and red cabbages and the mushrooms and toss to incorporate.

Preheat the oven to 275°F.

In a small nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the grapeseed oil over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add 1 cup of the cabbage pancake batter and carefully press down to ensure the pancake makes contact with the bottom of the skillet all the way to its outer edges.

Cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is gold brown, 5 to 6 minutes, then give the pan a wiggle to release the pancake. Now hold your breath as you attempt to flip the pancake: hold the pan’s handle with both hands, tilt the pan forward, and quickly flick your wrists in an upward motion to toss the pancake up and over (or simply use a spatula to flip it if this all sounds too intense). Cook on the second side until it’s golden brown, about 5 minutes more, then slide the pancake onto an oven-safe plate and place it in the oven. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter to make four pancakes total.

Serve the pancakes hot, drizzled with honey and topped with scallions, toasted benne seeds, and flaky salt.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Our South: Black Food Through My Lens by Ashleigh Shanti © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © Johnny Autry.

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