Sweet breakfasts aren’t really my thing. Oatmeal is nice once in a while, and smoothies are often my go-to on work days just because they’re so easy, but given the opportunity I will always pick a savoury breakfast over a sweet one. So when I woke up hungry on a recent day off, with week-old celery root (aka celeriac) and a lonesome cup of spelt flour in the fridge, I drew on some stored inspiration.
Edmontonians have a thing with green onion cakes. I’m not sure how it came to be, but soon after moving here, we noticed green onions cakes everywhere. We tried them at the farmers market, at Heritage Fest, and soon I decided I wanted to try making my own version. The thought lingered for months, and I did nothing about it. Finally when the opportunity presented itself, I satisfied my vision and made savoury pancakes with leeks, celery root, and carrot.
My partner claims these leek & celery root cakes are better than any green onion cake we have ever tried. We’re not green onion cake experts by any means, having only tried a few, but I’ll take the compliment! We enjoyed them on a cold snowy morning with a handful of mustard sprouts and sliced cherry tomatoes. They would also be really great with a dollop of milk kefir! We really enjoyed them as breakfast, but could also be served as part of lunch or dinner as well. They can also be made into appetizers by making them smaller and topping each mini cake with a dollop of cream and a pinch of fresh sprouts.
- 2 small celery roots, grated
- ⅓ cup leeks, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- mineral salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup organic spelt flour
- 1 cup room temperature filtered water
- 1 tablespoon organic gluten-free tamari
- 2-4 tablespoons cold-pressed avocado oil, for frying
- Place grated celery root, sliced leeks, grated carrot, and parsley into a medium mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, mix to coat. Add the flour, water, and tamari, mix with a wooden spoon until combined. It should be fairly wet and sticky and hold together loosely when rolled into a ball, but there shouldn't be any excess flour or water.
- Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Grab a small handful of the dough mixture and roll into a ball about 2" in diameter with your hands. Drop it on the hot skillet, then flatten it gently with the back of a wooden spoon so it's about an inch or so thick. Repeat until you run out of space in the pan, I was about to fit four cakes at a time. Turn down heat to medium-low, fry for 5-8 minutes or so until the bottom is golden brown. Check the bottoms; when they're ready, flip and fry for 5-8 minutes on the other side. When done, remove from skillet and repeat with remaining dough, adding more avocado oil as needed. Serve immediately with a side of greens and a dollop of milk kefir.
gluten-free // use gluten-free all purpose flour
soy-free // use coconut aminos instead of tamari
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