What Should Have Been Cilantro Jalapeno Zucchini Pancakes with Chipotle Sour Cream

I was inspired to make this dish after posting my Links for Latkas last Friday. I wanted to see if you could take the deliciousness of a potato pancake and turn it on its head. Eliminate the frying. Up the veggie quotient. It wasn't too big of a stretch.

Plus, I happened to have a lot of zucchini in my refrigerator that I needed to use up a.s.a.p.

So as the snow fell outside, I was comfortably warm cooking up my own storm this past Saturday morning. I knew I would be serving this dish that evening to my newish next door neighbors. The neighbors where the wife is the phenomenal cook.

The pressure was on.

I thought I would do something really creative and make a casserole out of the pancake ingredients. A kugel if you will.

It worked, but while the resulting dish was delicious, I know that it could have been so much better, although more time consuming, if I had just stuck with straight up pancakes. The casserole lacked the crispiness on all sides that I was craving, so I carefully cut the entire tray into small squares and rebaked all of the pieces.

Luckily, it worked. But you don't need to go through all that hassle. Just make the pancakes from the start!

I'm not sure you'd want to attempt these without the magic of a food processor, but if you've got the muscle (or need a good workout), go right ahead.

Cilantro Jalapeno Zucchini Pancakes with Chipotle Sour Cream
adapted from this recipe

Printable Recipe

1 Tbsp EnerG Egg Replacer
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 pounds zucchini, shredded
1 pound peeled baking potato, shredded
1 small onion (mine was 7 ounces), shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped chipotle chili, canned in adobo sauce
scant 2 Tbsp finely chopped, seeded jalapeno pepper
2 tsp cumin
4 thinly sliced scallions (mine were on the small side)
1 tsp salt
12 Tbsp garbanzo bean flour

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together EnerG Egg Replacer and water.

In a very large bowl, place all ingredients, including egg replacer/water mixture. Stir well to combine ingredients thoroughly.
Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of the batter onto the hot skillet and press each mound into a 3-inch pancake. Cook the pancakes until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer the latkes to a baking tray and put in the oven to keep warm.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Optional: serve topped with Chipotle Sour Cream.

Chipotle Sour Cream
Not exactly health food, but vegan. Outstanding.

1 12 ounce container Tofutti Sour Cream
2 Tbsp chopped chipotle chili, canned in adobo sauce
Zest of 1 large lime
Juice of 1 large lime

Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

These would also make outstanding Vegan appetizers for a party. Just use a tablespoon full of batter as you make the pancakes instead of 1/4 cup. Arrange on a platter and keep warm in the oven. Dollop a bit of the Chipotle Sour Cream on right before serving.