Sour Cream Pancakes with a Concord Grape Compote

If you’ve never had a Concord grape, imagine the flavor from a purple lollipop or purple gum, then imagine nature producing that flavor instead of a factory, and you’ll get the idea. A Concord grape tastes like the cartoon version of a grape; the flavor of a grape that we all have in our head when we think “grape flavor.”

Concord grapes only come around in the fall and if you’re lucky enough to find them at the farmer’s market or in your CSA, you’re in for a treat.

Let’s not kid ourselves, though: Concord grapes are a pain in the butt for one main reason, the seeds.

There are various workarounds you can try, number one being: seek out seedless Concord grapes. Workaround two: cook them into a syrup with the seeds and then strain them out. Otherwise, grab a knife and a pair of tweezers and do some surgery (my mom always wanted me to be a doctor):

That might look tedious to you, but I found it meditative. Put on a podcast or the new Jeff Tweedy album and let your mind wander as you cut each grape in half through the equator, then plunge your tweezers in and yank out the seeds.

Once you’ve done that, you can make an easy compote by cooking the grapes down with sugar, lemon juice, and (using Rick Martinez’s recipe) star anise, until nice and thick and then pour that into a bowl. Isn’t this pretty?

Then the only remaining question is: what to do with it? And I’ve got the answer: make pancakes.

Not just any pancakes; make sour cream pancakes using this recipe from the NYT.

It’s a great recipe because it’s so easy: you just combine sour cream with the dry ingredients, add eggs and vanilla, and you’re good. (Though next time, I’ll combine the sour cream with the wet ingredients and then add to the dry stuff.) Cook in lots of melted butter.

When you see bubbles on top? It’s time to flip.

I cooked some store-bought chicken sausage to go with this (for protein and health) and kept everything warm in a 250 degree oven until all of the pancakes were done. Then I put it all together with some powdered sugar on top of the pancakes, and then the compote on top of that, with more on the side.

So spit out that purple gum and go out and experience the real thing. Your family will thank you when you cook these up on Sunday morning.

Sour Cream Pancakes with a Concord Grape Compote

A combination of two recipes by Rick Martinez and Ifrah Ahmed for one winning result.

Makes six large pancakes and about one cup of compote

Ingredients:

For the Concord Grape Compote:

• 3 cups Concord grapes, seeded

• 2 star anise pods (you could also use a cinnamon stick)

• 1/3 cup of sugar

• 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional; I left it out because the pancakes were already so rich)

For the sour cream pancakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 cups full-fat sour cream

• 4 large eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed

• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions:

1. First, make the compote. Combine all of the ingredients in a pot (minus the butter, if using) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes or until the grapes have all burst and the liquid is very syrupy. Remove the star anise, stir in the butter if using, then pour into a bowl. Set aside.

2. For the pancakes: whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, the eggs, and the vanilla; then add to the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

3. Preheat your oven to 250. In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter until foamy, then pour in 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake — three pancakes per batch. Cook for two minutes; when bubbly and brown on the bottom, carefully flip (it’s tricky, they’re wet) and finish on the other side. Remove to a cookie sheet, keep warm in the oven, while you finish the remaining pancakes.

4. To serve: place the pancakes on a plate, dust with powdered sugar, and top with the compote. Serve the rest of the compote on the side.