Hearty Mexican pancakes: A seasonal twist on a classic dish

Pancakes offer a lot of possibilities. We often consider them desserts or light dishes, but everything depends on the filling. When we choose meat and vegetables, especially legumes, pancakes are perfect for lunch or dinner. Their popularity is also because you only need a few ingredients to make them. You can also fry the pancakes in advance.

What do we associate with Mexican cuisine? Often, it's dishes based on ground meat, with frequent additions of beans and corn, seasoned quite heavily. This is quite accurate, but you can season them to your liking. The ingredient list prominently features red beans, a key component in one of the most well-known Mexican dishes, chilli con carne.

We rarely use red beans in Canadian cuisine, but this is worth changing as they are a vital dietary component. Red beans are an excellent source of protein, which can even replace animal protein. They also contain a lot of fibre, vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc—all of which are important nutrients that we especially need in autumn and winter.

Ingredients:

          
• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour,
• 2 eggs,
• 1 cup milk,
• 1 cup sparkling water,
• a pinch of salt,
• oil or butter for frying.

For the filling:

                      
• 1 onion,
• 1 carrot,
• 600 g ground meat, e.g., pork or beef,
• 3 cloves garlic,
• sweet and hot paprika to taste,
• 200 g canned red beans,
• 100 g canned corn,
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste,
• 200 g canned tomatoes,
• Mexican seasoning to taste,
• cilantro to taste, optional,
• salt and pepper to taste.

Additionally:

    
• 100 g mozzarella,
• 100 g yellow cheese,
• chopped parsley or cilantro for serving.

Preparation:

1. In a tall bowl, pour the flour, milk, sparkling water, eggs, and a pinch of salt. Blend everything until smooth.
2. Fry the pancakes on a preheated pan using oil or butter.
3. To prepare the filling, start by sautéing finely chopped onions in oil, then add grated carrot. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the ground meat and mix everything. Cook for a few minutes and season to taste with spices.
5. Add drained beans and corn to the cooked meat, mixing well.
6. Finally, add tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Cook for a few more minutes. Taste the filling; it might need additional seasoning.
7. Place approximately 2 tablespoons of filling on each pancake and sprinkle with grated yellow cheese. Roll the pancakes and place them in a baking dish.
8. Top the pancakes with grated mozzarella.
9. Bake the pancakes for 12 minutes at 190°C.
10. Serve sprinkled with parsley or cilantro.