It's late October. We've just gone apple picking. We're Polish. What can we logically expect to follow?
If you guessed "duh, glorious apple pancakes in the tradition of your late Polish grandfather", you guessed right. I don't usually like the term "late" as a reference to those who have passed, but it seems appropriate today. If there was one appointment on planet Earth my grandfather's attendance would have been expected, and he was surely late for, it would have been our breakfast table this morning. After making these pancakes, he used to take leftover apple slices and plunk them right in his hot black tea, for an infused brew. He would have been proud of these.
My mother told me something funny today. Apparently at English class when she was young, they taught the phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" as one of the many little tidbits they teach. She said when she was little this was very stupid to her, because of course if you were rich enough to afford an apple every day you wouldn't ever get sick or need a doctor. At the time in Poland (as in many other parts of the world today) all fruit that was to be had was strictly seasonal. Apples only happened in the fall and early winter.
Although we are lucky enough to have apples year round, I try to approach the season when we are able to pick our own with special exuberance. I don't shy away from taking home 60 pounds of apples from the orchard, because it's a challenge and a joy to incorporate them into absolutely everything for a short while--and subsequently, become entirely sick of apples until a nostalgic moment in May when you dip into a mason jar of chunky homemade applesauce; totally pumped for next fall when you can eat apple cake until you throw up again. Lovely!
But honestly, there is nothing quite like frying up a batch of these for a Sunday morning on a crisp autumn day, with memories hanging in the air as dense as the smoky fragrance of cinnamon apples. The traditional pancake recipe is a 1-1-1 type of deal, so it's incredibly easy to make larger or smaller batches. The key to this is slicing the apples up reaaaaaal thin. You could keep them as large thin discs of apple and lay them on top of clean batter, or slice them in half as we did and incorporate them right in. It's all fair game, except never dice them. That's just blasphemy. It's just sick. It's not allowed. Same goes for maple syrup! There better not be a drop of that (delicious) stuff on these. It's just not the European way. All manners of jams, butters, and honey are otherwise permitted.
Mmmm!
To quote The Pioneer Woman: enjoy these, folks.
Polish Apple Pancakes (serves 3)
4 eggs
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 large Winesap apple (or any other sweetly tart apple) (peeled or unpeeled)
vegetable oil for frying
Using a standing mixer or electric hand mixer (no lumps allowed), whisk the eggs, flour, milk, and spices until smooth. Slice the apple veeerrrrry thinly, and incorporate the slices into the batter by hand. Pour oil onto the pan and heat on high. Drop ladle-fuls of batter onto the bubbling oil, flipping when firm underneath. Cook until golden. Serve with greek yogurt mixed with additional cinnamon and honey, and other condiments.
