6 Pancake Day recipes to satisfy your sweet — or savoury — tooth
Your entire dinner tonight is made of pancake. Enjoy!
(Thank you to Waitrose for providing us with these delicious-looking recipes.)
Creamy leek & mushroom pancakes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the pancake: 50g plain flour 50g Waitrose Dark Rye Flour Pinch of salt 1 essential Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Egg, beaten 300ml milk
For the filling: 50g butter 2 leeks, washed and shredded 2 cloves garlic, crushed 250g pack chestnut mushrooms, sliced 200g button mushrooms, sliced Oil, for frying 150g pack Boursin with Black Pepper
Method
Place the flours and salt in a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the egg. Then gradually beat in the milk to form a smooth batter. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently cook the leeks for 4–5 minutes until they have softened.
Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until softened.
Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan. Once hot, pour a little of the prepared batter into the pan, and rotate it around so that there is an even layer. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the surface is firm to touch and slightly darker in colour, then flip the pancake over and cook for 1–2 minutes, or until golden.
Set aside and keep warm. Repeat to make 4 pancakes.
Divide the leek mixture between the pancakes, top with a generous cube of the Boursin, and serve with the sides folded in towards the centre.
Baked Pancakes with Spinach, Cream and Gruyère
The secret of this recipe is to make a very fine pancake mixture: thin enough to spread in the pan but thick enough to cook. Unfortunately only practice makes perfect in achieving this!
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
100g plain flour
2 eggs
200ml whole milk
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
50g unsalted butter
1 tbsp sunflower oil
400ml whipping cream
A pinch grated nutmeg
50g gruyère, finely grated
Filling:
40g unsalted butter
300g spinach, washed and dried, stalks removed
200g button mushrooms, in 3mm-thick slices
50g gruyère
Method
For the pancake batter, put the flour in a mixing bowl, make a well and crack the eggs into it; season.
Whisk the eggs, incorporating the flour little by little. Thin the mixture with a little milk, then gradually pour in the rest of it, whisking continuously. Add the herbs. Separately, heat the butter in a small pan until golden and foaming, then add it to the batter, whisking all the time. Reserve in the fridge until needed.
For the filling, melt 20g butter in a frying pan on a high heat and throw in the spinach. Cook, stirring all the time, for 2 minutes; season. Drain and chop the spinach; reserve.
On a high heat, heat the remaining butter and cook the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Season. Mix with the spinach and stir in the Gruyère. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Have ready a spatula, and a tray to place the pancakes on once cooked. Heat an 18cm frying pan over a medium heat, and add 1 tsp oil. Swirl the oil around. (If the pancake batter has separated, give it a whisk.) Add just enough batter to the hot pan to cover the surface when swirled. Cook for 15–20 seconds. Slide the spatula underneath and flip the pancake over. Cook for a further 15–20 seconds.
Repeat until all the batter is used up — you should have 8 thin pancakes.
Divide the filling between the pancakes, roll up tightly and place in a gratin dish. Bring the whipping cream to a rolling boil, add the nutmeg and season. Pour the cream over the pancakes and scatter the cheese over the top. Bake the pancakes for 20 minutes until golden.
Cheesy pancakes with cauliflower and broccoli
Try this simple and easy-to-prepare vegetarian meal using mature West Country Cheddar to give these pancakes a good, strong, tangy flavour.
Vegetarian
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes to 35 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes to 50 minutes
Makes: 6 large pancakes
Ingredients
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets 1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets 50g unsalted butter 50g plain flour 450ml Waitrose Semi-Skimmed Milk 142ml pot Waitrose Single Cream 200g Waitrose West Country Farmhouse Mature Cheddar, grated 1 bunch salad onions, washed and finely chopped Pinch nutmeg 200g pack frozen 6 Suzettes Hand Cooked Pancakes, defrosted 2 tbsp Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Sundried Tomato Paste
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Place the broccoli and cauliflower florets in a pan of boiling water and cook for 3–4 minutes until just tender. Drain thoroughly.
Meanwhile, place the butter, flour and milk in a medium pan. Allow the butter to melt then gradually bring to the boil, whisking continuously for about 4–5 minutes to make a thick, smooth sauce. Whisk in the cream, then remove from the heat and add 150g of the cheese, the salad onions and nutmeg. Season to taste.
Place the broccoli and cauliflower in a bowl with half the cheese sauce. Spread each pancake with 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, then divide the filling equally between the pancakes and roll up.
Arrange the pancakes in a large shallow ovenproof dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve with a Waitrose Mixed Salad Bowl and some warm Waitrose Italian Style Ready to Bake Pane Rustico.
Sweetcorn and red onion pancakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 clove garlic, chopped 1 Cooks’ Ingredients Red Chilli, seeded and chopped 50g caster sugar 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 essential Waitrose Sweetcorn Cobs 100g self-raising flour 2 medium eggs, separated 3 tbsp semi-skimmed milk 1 small red onion, finely chopped 20g pack fresh coriander, chopped
Method
Place the garlic, chilli, sugar and vinegar together in a small pan and add 100ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3–5 minutes until the chilli is soft and the sauce reduced by half. Remove from the heat, then pour into a small dish and leave to cool.
Cook the corn cobs in a pan of boiling water for 5–6 minutes until the corn kernels are tender. Drain and scrape the sweetcorn from the cobs using a sharp knife.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl with seasoning. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the egg yolks and milk together and whisk into the flour to make a very thick batter. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff and then fold into the batter.
Fold the corn, onion and chopped coriander through the batter mixture. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the pan and cook for a minute or two on each side until golden. Keep warm on a plate in the oven while you cook the rest.
Serve garnished with fresh coriander and the dipping sauce.
Cook’s tips
Use 150g frozen essential Waitrose Supersweet Sweetcorn instead of the cobs. Cook for a minute or two in boiling water, drain and use as above.
Spelt flour pancakes with rhubarb and cardamom
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
125g Bacheldre Stoneground Spelt Flour 1 egg 300ml semi-skimmed milk 400g rhubarb, cut into 3cm lengths 2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 2 tbsp golden caster sugar 50g butter, melted
Method
Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the egg into the well and whisk the mixture together, incorporating all the flour into the egg. Gradually add the milk, whisking until you have a smooth batter. Cover and set aside.
Place the rhubarb in a small pan with the cardamom pods, sugar and 50ml cold water. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for 4–5 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender. Remove from the heat, discard the cardamom pods and keep the rhubarb warm.
Heat a little of the butter in a 20cm crêpe pan or small non-stick frying pan. Add a small ladleful of the batter and swirl around to coat the base of the pan. Cook over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes or until the mixture has just set underneath, then flip over and cook for a further minute. Repeat with the remaining mixture to make 6 pancakes, keeping the cooked pancakes warm on a covered plate.
Fold the pancakes into quarters and spoon the rhubarb mixture over. Serve with a dollop of fromage frais.
Cook’s tips
Make a double batch of pancakes and freeze half of them. Place a sheet of baking parchment between each one to stop them sticking together. Wrap the whole stack in foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost thoroughly before warming in a moderate oven.
Drinks recommendation
A fruity sweet white wine would be ideal with this dessert.
Apple and cinnamon pancakes
Not just for Pancake Day!
Vegetarian
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 10–12 Serves: 4–6
Ingredients
125 g essential Waitrose self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 medium egg
125 ml essential Waitrose semi skimmed milk
2 Waitrose English Apples, peeled, cored and cubed
1 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
15 g butter
4 tbsp Bonne Maman Confiture de Caramel
Method
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the egg. Gradually beat in the milk, bringing in the flour from the edges to make a thick smooth batter. Set aside.
Toss the apple cubes in the sugar and cinnamon. Melt half the butter in a small non-stick pan. Add the apple and cook for 1–2 minutes until golden.
Brush a non-stick frying pan or griddle with the remaining butter, heat over a medium flame, then place a few of the apple cubes on the pan. Drop 1 tbsp of the batter on top. Cook for 2–3 minutes until bubbles burst and the underside is golden.
Turn the pancake and cook for 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining mixture while keeping the pancakes warm in a low oven. Serve with the caramel sauce and scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Cook’s tips
Sliced banana or diced pear work really well instead of the apple in this recipe.
Originally published at https://www.thenationalstudent.com.
