Recipe Sunday: Yes, Virginia, You Can Freeze Scallions and Make a Sriracha Pancake with Them

The title is a play off of the movie “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus,” because for the last two years I’ve only had these amazing scallions in the summer and was stymied about how to make them last.

Then it dawned on me – freeze them for the winter! Yay! It’s like Christmas in August. So, instead of having my refrigerator overrun with two-foot scallions that go bad before I can use all of them, I have them for soups, stews, sauces and salsas in December.

Phew. Problem solved.

scallions-to-scale

(Just to give you an idea about how large these scallions are, I placed them next to a 50 cent piece and a new roll of kitchen twine. Hello, mongo scallions!)

But, I was curious how they’d reheat. Would the texture be okay? Would they be watery? So, I decided to make a savory pancake with them – and use sriracha. As you may or may not know, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of garlic, but my husband likes it. So, he’s my official taste tester for certain recipes, including this one.

Which is a little fun thing to do. We both love cooking shows, so it tickles him to be a “judge,” and he gets to say things like, “flavor profile,” “texture” and espouse about seasoning.

Some couples hike. Some couples shop. We like to talk about food.

His notes: “The sriracha gave it a good and spicy bite without being overpowering and the pancake was seasoned well. The texture was good, and it would be a pretty delicious post-bar dish. As easy to cook as scrambled eggs, but way better.”

Cool!

Speaking of cool, let’s talk about freezing scallions. Don’t just wash them, dry them, chop them and place them in plastic bags. They’ll stick together, and you don’t want a 3-oz. scallion ice cube. So, just place them on a large, rimmed sheet pan, and divide the whites and greens. Then put them in separate freezer bags so you can easily take just what you need later.

Frozen scallions final

Now for the dish. I’ve made this a couple of times and I really like it. But this time I decided to make it garlicky as a little post-farmers market present for my husband. Saturday’s are a crazy long day for him. And it never hurts to be nice to the man who changes the cat litter.

Sriracha Scallion Pancake

Makes 1 pancake.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup chopped scallion greens
  • ½ cup cold water
  • ½ cup unbleached flour
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • 2 teaspoons tamari or dark soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon peanut oil

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook until wilted, about 1 ½ minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, flour, sriracha, tamari and peanut oil. Pour over the scallions. Even out the batter with a spatula. Let cook for 3-4 minutes, or until browned. Flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

You can eat as a pancake, or cut into wedges and serve with a soy sauce, red pepper flake and rice wine dipping sauce.

(Photos by Launie K.)

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