I own a lot of cookbooks but there is only one that is tattered and torn, with bookmarks made from scraps of paper scrawled with recipes shoved between the pages of almost every section, that is the Joy of Cooking. Almost all the staples, the pancakes, the cornbread, started there, those recipes are how I remember childhood tasting. My mother claimed that she never liked the Joy of Cooking because it made you flip from section to section to create, sauce on one page, crust on another. But when I went looking for the cornmeal pancake recipe I remember I found it in the Joy of Cooking. Mom always whipped the egg whites and the pancakes were always delicate and flavorful: never dense, never heavy, almost like soufflé with real maple syrup.
I had to make things even more complicated by heating the cornmeal with the milk and butter because the cornmeal I bought was for polenta and fairly coarse. The result was an even richer flavored and delicate cake. All the steps add more dishes to clean than time but if you have a dishwasher well no worries. The paprika adds a subtle heat. I used frozen blueberries but can’t wait to make these again when blueberries are in season. I halved the recipe and still had plenty of batter for breakfast for two.
Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs butter
- 1/3 cup cornmeal medium, stoneground
- ½ cup milk
- 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 T sugar
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. medium hot paprika optional
- 1/3 cup greek yogurt
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup blueberries
Instructions
- combine cornmeal, butter and milk in a small pan over medium heat. heat to just below boiling and remove from heat.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a separate smaller bowl thoroughly combine yogurt, egg yolk, and vanilla.
- Whisk egg white until it forms soft peaks.
- Combine cornmeal mixture with greek yogurt mixture and then stir in the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the egg whites until almost combined and then add the blueberries.
- Cook over medium low in well seasoned and buttered griddle or cast iron pan by scooping 1/4 cup batter onto the skillet for each pancake. Cook until the top of each pancake is speckled with bubbles and the edges seem set, then flip. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200°F oven.
Wish I were eating breakfast at your house! I’d be glad to wash dishes, too. This reminds me of a recipe I got from Jimmy Bannos, proprietor of a New Orleans-style Creole/Cajun restaurant in Chicago called Heaven on Seven. He made cornbread with blueberries, then cut the cornbread into cubes that he fried and rolled in confectioners’ sugar and served as a doughnut-like dessert. Even more opulent, using that fried blueberry cornbread in an ice cream sandwich.
Well I wish you were eating breakfast here as well. That cornbread doughnut sounds over the top! And reading your comment I’ve realized I never go for sweet additions in my cornbread, strictly savory. But now, well now I might have to try it out. The fried dough stays together for an ice cream sandwich? Or is it the sort of sandwich best eaten with a fork? What kind of ice cream? Oh how I yearn for summer food (and summer).