Spring vegetable pancakes

stats:

makes 8-10 pancakes

what you need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced fennel bulb
1/4 cup soybeans (fresh or frozen), shelled
1/4 cup spiral cut carrots (or grated)
1 cup grated potatoes, large grate with skins
1 cup grated zucchini, large grate with peel
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
2 eggs, mixed
3 tablespoons King Arthur unbleached white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
vegetable or canola oil (as needed)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt  (and as needed)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup crème fraîche

how to:

• Blanche Soybeans. Cook the soybeans in salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes.  Remove soybeans from the water with a mesh colander and place them in an ice bath.  Drain and set aside.

• Sauté Fennel. Place olive oil in a hot sauté pan.  Once oil is warm, sauté fennel until tender (about 2 minutes).  Remove from heat and set aside.

• Spiral Cut Carrots. Spiral cut carrots with a growing-shredder.  Set aside.

• Grate Potatoes And Zucchini. Grate Potatoes and Carrots and toss in lemon juice.  Let them sit in the lemon juice in a bowl for about 15 minutes.  The moisture will come out of the vegetables and the starch will settle to the bottom of bowl.

• Make Batter.  While potatoes and zucchini are resting, use a whisk to combine eggs, salt, pepper, baking soda, and flours in a separate bowl. Mix until there are no lumps.

• Decant. Remove potatoes and zucchini from the bowl.  Squeeze excess moisture from the grated potatoes and zucchini.  Set aside. Pour off the liquid (watered-down lemon juice) from the bowl that held the potatoes and zucchini. Leave the white starch on the bottom of the bowl undisturbed.

• Mix. Place the fennel, carrots, soybeans, zucchini and potatoes in the bowl with the starch and toss in the starch.  Add the batter to the mixture and combine.

• Form. Use a spoon to remove  a scoop of the vegetable batter and form pancakes.

• Fry.  Place a cast iron skillet or fry-pan over medium-high heat.  Once warm, add oil.  When oil is hot add pancakes and fry on both sides (about 2 minutes each side) until golden brown.  Remove and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.  If you cook in batches cover the cooked pancakes with aluminum foil and place in a warm oven.  Continue to fry pancakes until all of the batter is gone (wipe out the pan with a paper towel and add fresh oil to the pan in between batches if necessary).

• Serve. Serve pancakes warm with side of crème fraîche.