A couple weeks ago, I posted a recipe for Yam Quesadillas. While they were absolutely excellent, after I’d used up my tortillas, I still had a lot of the filling left—three cups. Rather than buying more tortillas and continuing on the quesadilla track, I decided to try making yam pancakes with the remainder of the filling.
I’ve made potato pancakes in the past, but hadn’t ever tried yam pancakes. The results were wonderful. Based on traditional yam pancake recipes, I simply added two eggs and 2/3 cup of flour to the quesadilla filling.
You may want to experiment a bit with the amount of flour you use. I tried the recipe with 1/3 cup of flour and the batter felt pretty wet. The resulting pancakes were good, but I decided to add another 1/3 cup. The results were pretty similar. So if you prefer not to use a lot of flour, you can easily get away with less than I’ve suggested. Three cups of filling made about fourteen 2-1/2- to 3-inch pancakes.
I decided to add a bit more protein to the meal by whipping up some very simple black bean refritos. Sauté 1/2 cup onion and two minced garlic cloves in 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of cumin and cook for another 5 minutes. Add a can of drained and rinsed black or pinto beans to the skillet and stir until cooked through. Use a potato masher, or a blender or food processor to mash the mixture together, adding liquid if necessary. Add black pepper to taste.
How to Convert Quesadilla Filling to Pancakes
- For three cups of filling, add two eggs and 1/3 to 2/3 cups of flour. If the batter seems really wet when you’re forming the pancakes, add more flour.
- If you have more than three cups of filling, calculate how many eggs and how much flour you’ll need based on the measurements I’ve provided above. For example, if you have four cups of filling, I’d suggest staying with just two eggs, but increase the flour to 1/2 cup. For two cups of filling, I might add just one egg and 1/4 cup flour. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so feel free to experiment.
How to Make Meatless Monday Yam Pancakes
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs.
- Place the leftover filling in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the eggs and flour and stir well.
- Heat two tablespoons of coconut oil over medium heat in a 10-inch or larger skillet.
- Scoop 1/3 cup of the batter out of your mixing bowl and form a ball.
- Flatten the ball between your hands and place the pancake into the skillet.
- Flatten the pancake further with a metal spatula. Then make more pancakes until you’ve filled your skillet.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side until browned.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Serve topped with salsa.