This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was Swiss chard pancakes. We’re making these at the end of April, but based on the color alone, these savory emerald green pancakes would be perfect to serve on St. Patrick’s Day.

The batter was simple to mix up. All the ingredients, except the Swiss chard, are combined together in the blender. Then the chard is added. The blender was really full, so I was concerned that I should have done this in batches, but, no worries, the greens condensed down in an instant. Dorie suggested not to pulverize the chard, leaving some texture, but my blender did not cooperate.

The pancakes are fried in a skillet. I found them a bit greasy, and my kitchen still smells has remnants of that oily aroma of a diner. I think I should have cooked them on the electric griddle instead, as we do breakfast pancakes. In that case, no oil is required.

These can be served as a starter, though Dorie says the French typically serve them for a main meal, which is what I did. On one night, the pancakes were accompanied with a bowl of white bean soup, on the second night, with a green salad.

My feeling on these was pure ambivalence, which Howard echoed. They were pretty on the plate, but just not that interesting. Even with all the savory ingredients (onion, shallot, parsley, chives, and, of course, the chard), they were rather bland and flavorless. That’s fine. Not everything that reads tasty on the page will translate on the tongue. There are plenty more recipes to try. Onward to next week!

To check out whether the other Doristas enjoyed these more than I did, follow their links here. If you are interested, you can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.