A RECIPE THE WHOLE FAMILY WILL LOVE

For the last nine months, I've kept the pace of writing 4-6 blogs a month. Admittedly, it's not always easy trying to think of new ideas. Mike seems to have a running list while I remain hopeful each day that an idea will come to me. So today, I find myself sharing one of our favourites with you.

GREEN ONION CAKES

If you're not from Edmonton, you may not be familiar with these. Trust me, they will become a favourite. This recipe was adapted from the original I got from my mom. She took a class from the man, Siu To, believed to have been the one to popularize green onion cakes in Edmonton. The original recipe uses a different method for rolling and making the cakes but, I have found that way to be too time-consuming and, you get the same result with my instructions below. I'm going to guess here that the method of rolling is very likely a traditional way of making these cakes so for that, I'm sorry for my adaptation.

I've also found the kids enjoy making this recipe because they love the cakes so much. There are a number of steps along the way that are simple for small hands to help with so it's easy to get them involved.

I will say this recipe is a treat as it's not low-calorie, but the cakes freeze well so I like to make a bunch and toss them in the freezer. They can be cooked from frozen in minutes, and they fry up perfectly. (freeze uncooked)

Celiacs: I've never tried making these with gluten-free flour. I'm not sure how they would turn out. It's worth a try.

Ingredients

4 cups/500g all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

400mL warm water (110)

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil)

1 tbsp salted butter

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp salt

2-3 bunches chopped green onion

Directions

1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder in a large bowl with a spoon.

2. Add 3/4 of the water and mix with your fingers.

3. Knead the dough in the bowl until the texture is the same as your cheek. Add more water as needed.

4. Cover the dough with the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, mix the vegetable oil, butter and sesame oil in a small pot.

6. Turn on low until the butter melts. Take off heat and allow to cool.

7. Roll out the dough on a flat surface into a large rectangle sheet.

8. Take some of the cooled oil and brush it onto the dough. Cover the whole surface of the rectangle with oil, but you will need to be sure you reserve some of the oil for later.

9. Sprinkle salt to cover.

10. Take the chopped green onions and sprinkle them all over the oiled surface. Be sure to use a lot to capture the flavour once baked.

11. Once covered - from the bottom of the dough, roll it until it is a long baguette-like roll.

12. Slice the 'baguette' into 1-inch pieces.

13. Take the palm of your hand and smash each piece until it's very flat.

14. Push down the dough so it spreads out quite wide.

15. Once you've flattened each piece heat some of the oil in a frying pan.

16. Place the cakes in a medium-hot pan and fry until golden brown.

17. Cut into four equal pieces and serve.

We like to eat them with sweet chilli sauce, or I like them with reduced balsamic vinegar.

If you're not familiar with reduced balsamic vinegar, it's balsamic vinegar that has been heated to concentrate the vinegar. It's quite thick and has a very unique and delicious flavour.

Enjoy!

Shannon, The Herdmother