Savory Bacon Cornmeal Pancakes with Mató Cheese

I love a good brunch (who doesn't?) but pancakes have never been at the top of my list. I'll take eggs Benedict or a Florentine omelette any day over a stack of pancakes. No offense to those who live for a pile of chocolate-covered-syrup-soaked, cotton-candy-topped pancakes on the weekends—gotta go with what makes you happy—they're just not for me.

But there is something about mixing savory and sweet flavors that I find alluring. When I was growing up, whenever we had pancakes at home my dad would forgo the syrup and top his pancakes with eggs and bacon. Seven-year-old me thought he was crazy. Grown-up me knows he had the right idea. (I can't be the only one who drizzles just a touch of maple syrup over buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, can I?)

So I thought I'd try my hand at a savory pancake. I have a go-to blueberry cornmeal pancake recipe with mató cheese that I've always thought would lend itself to a savory version. Bacon makes everything better, right? A quick internet search revealed to me that there are many others that think so too.

For these pancakes, I reduced the sugar in my original recipe and, in place of fruit, these babies feature bacon sauteed with spring onions and corn. If you've got fresh hot chilies on hand it wouldn't hurt to chop them up and toss them in with the onions as well. They pair nicely with an avocado and tomato salad, and, if you're really hungry, a soft cooked egg. For the final touch, they're great with a drizzle of rosemary and chili honey, or maple syrup.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup (130 g) all purpose flour
  • 1 cup (150 g) cornmeal*
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1½ cup (350 ml) whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup (125 g) mató cheese (or ricotta, see note below)
  • 200 g bacon, diced
  • 6-8 spring onions, sliced thinly
  • 1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
  • 2 Tbsp butter, separated
  • cilantro to garnish
  • Oil or butter for cooking

METHOD

  1. Heat bacon, one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon water in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until water evaporates and bacon begins to crisp and brown.
  2. Add the spring onions and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about one minute. Add corn , cook for another minute and then transfer mixture to a plate to cool.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together: flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, mató cheese and one tablespoon of melted butter.
  5. Combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and half of the bacon, onion and corn mixture; mix until just combined. Do not over mix; it's OK if there are still a few lumps in there.
  6. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes so that the dry ingredients can absorb the liquids. The batter will be very thick.
  7. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Brush with just enough butter or cooking oil to coat the surface.
  8. Drop the pancake batter by ⅓ cup onto the pan and sprinkle some of the bacon and onion mixture on top. Cook the pancakes for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the undersides are golden and you see a bubbles popping up through the pancakes. Flip the pancakes and cook another 2 to3 minutes, until golden. (Getting the pan just the right temperature always take me a couple of tries—too hot and the center is raw while the outside is nearly burnt, too cool and it takes what seems like ages to cook each pancake.)
  9. Remove and place into a warm oven until all the pancakes are finished.
  10. Serve hot!

Makes eight hearty pancakes.

What Is Mató & What Can I Substitute for It?

Mató is a Catalan fresh cheese usually made with cow's milk; it is a sweet, unsalted, unfermented cheese that has a slightly grainy texture, but is smooth and spreadable. Here in Catalunya it is most often eaten for desert as mel i mató: a scoop of mató cheese is drizzled with honey and topped with toasted walnuts and raisins.

Don't worry if you can't find mató; it can be difficult to find outside of Catalunya. You can use ricotta cheese in its place; it is similar enough in texture, flavor and fat content to work wonderfully in this recipe. (Most mató found at the supermarket is 10% fat and ricotta is around 13% fat.)

*What Kind of Cornmeal?

Cornmeal like we have in the States can be hard to come by here. Often health-food stores carry a very finely ground cornmeal, but I find its texture too fine and the flavor too mild for these pancakes. I prefer instead a cornmeal used to make arepas—the brands P.A.N. and Doñarepa are both widely available in supermarkets in Spain.