Stuffed pancake

Last year I attended a cooking demonstration and learned about making stuffed pancakes. I've been wanting to experiment with it for awhile, so last week I attempted my own version. The cool thing about this recipe is that it's really more about the method and less about the specific ingredients. You can choose whatever flavors you like best for the filling. For this one, I chose sausage, shiitake mushrooms, shallots, fire-roasted tomatoes and some seasonings.

I sautéed all the ingredients and set them aside while I prepared the pancake dough. The dough is very simple. It's merely 2 and 1/4 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water with a teaspoon of salt. You'll want to combine the flour, salt and water and then cover and rest the dough for about 15 minutes.

Once the dough has rested, roll it out on a floured surface.

Next, brush the dough with olive oil. I used a balsamic and garlic infused oil.

Place your filling of choice on the dough. Be careful not to use too much filling or it will be difficult to contain.

Next, roll the dough into a log, tucking bits of the filling inside the dough.

Carefully roll the log into itself, creating a circle. Use a small amount of water to keep the dough sticking to itself if needed.

Use a rolling pin to flatten the pancake.

Transfer the pancake to a pan with hot vegetable oil. Let it cook for 2 minutes or so, and carefully flip the pancake. Hot oil splatters. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Once browned and crispy, transfer the pancake to a platter to cool. Slice into wedges and enjoy! This makes a great appetizer at parties, or a fun "street food" snack anytime.

You could choose any combination of flavors. I really like the idea of an Asian-inspired pancake with ground pork, ginger, sesame oil and some scallions. You could even go Italian and use fresh basil, fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic and ground chicken.

Get creative and let me know your ideas!