Dinner tonight! Green pancakes with lime butter

Who says pancakes are just for breakfast? These savory pancakes from Yotam Ottolenghi get their flavor from a colorful blend of spinach, green onions, cumin and serrano chile. Round out the harmony with a pat of lime butter spiced with cilantro, garlic and chile flakes, and you can call it a meal any time of the day. The whole dish comes together in less than an hour.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix several dishes in an hour or less.

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Green pancakes with lime butter

Total time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time for the butter

Servings: 4

Note: Adapted from “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Lime butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

Grated zest of 1 lime

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon chile flakes

Put the butter in a medium bowl and beat it with a wooden spoon until it turns soft and creamy. Stir in the lime zest, lime juice, salt, white pepper, chopped cilantro, garlic and chile flakes. Spoon onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends of the wrap to seal the flavored butter. Chill until firm. This makes a generous 1/2 cup of butter, more than is needed for the remainder of the recipe; the butter will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to three days.

Green pancakes and assembly

1/2 pound spinach, washed

3/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2/3 cup milk

6 green onions, finely sliced

1 serrano chile, thinly sliced

1 egg white

Olive oil for frying

1. Wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Drain in a sieve and, when cool, squeeze hard with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Roughly chop and put aside.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, whole egg, melted butter, salt, cumin and milk in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the green onions, chile and spinach, and mix with a fork. Beat the egg white to soft peaks and gently fold it into the batter.

3. Pour a small amount of olive oil into a heavy frying pan and place on medium-high heat. For each pancake, ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and press down gently. You should get smallish pancakes, about 3 inches in diameter and three-eighths of an inch thick. Cook until you get a good golden-green color, about 2 minutes to a side. Transfer to paper towels and keep warm. Continue making pancakes, adding oil to the pan as needed, until the batter is used up.

4. To serve, pile up 3 warm pancakes per person and place a pat of flavored butter on top to melt.

Each serving: 427 calories; 8 grams protein; 25 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 34 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 96 mg cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 780 mg sodium.