Going flat out to make pancake heaven

Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration and this year it falls on March 8. Pancakes form part of an ancient custom with deeply religious roots. The name is derived from the ritual of ‘shriving’, where Christians confessed their sins and received forgiveness before the start of Lent. Pancakes got involved because they could be made from flour, fat and eggs that had to be used up before Lent, which starts the next day.

Pancakes have three ingredients – plain flour, milk and eggs. Many recipes recommend sifting flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt, making a well in the centre, and gradually stirring in beaten eggs followed by milk. I find this takes quite a long time and would recommend an easier method, using either a stick blender or liquidiser.

To mix the pancake batter with a stick blender, or a liquidiser, whisk together the eggs and milk in a separate jug. Place flour and a pinch of salt in a tall jug or liquidiser goblet and add 100 mls of the milk and egg mixture, and whisk. Continue to add the remaining liquid until a smooth batter is formed. A couple of tablespoons of melted butter can be added at this point but the batter will work perfectly well without.

An important tip is to use a small frying pan – about 20cm in diameter is perfect ,and get it really hot before cooking the pancakes. It does not have to be non-stick. Once pancake-making skills are honed, these simple treats can be transformed into a delicious assortment of puddings.

Try a seasonal, local filling of young rhubarb, poached with a sprinkle of sugar and grated lemon zest, or filled with berries and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

A combination of buckwheat and plain flour produces a crisp pancakes that can be stuffed with spinach, ricotta and nutmeg and dribbled with Parmesan-flavoured white sauce for a quick supper.

Blinis are small, yeasty pancakes and are delicious served as a canapé. The batter is a mix of buckwheat and plain flour with a little dried yeast added to give a distinctive flavour.

Simple pancakes

Serves 4

2 eggs, 300ml semi-skimmed milk, 100g plain flour, pinch of salt, sunflower oil for frying,

To serve: 2 lemons, juiced, caster sugar

This amount of batter will make about 16 small pancakes.

Whisk together the flour, eggs, salt and the milk until smooth as per instructions above. Allow the batter to stand for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

If you have not made a pancake since last year, take a deep breath and tell yourself the first attempt is a practice run.

Pre-heat a frying pan until it is very hot. Take a piece of scrunched-up kitchen paper, dab with a little sunflower oil and use this to quickly wipe a thin film of oil over the hot pan.

Pour two tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl until the batter begins to set. After a minute, use a palette knife to flip over the pancake and cook for a further a minute until the underside of the pancake is golden brown. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water.

To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar.

Crisp buckwheat pancakes with spinach and ricotta

Serves 4

For the pancakes: 275ml, 1 egg, 1 tsp olive oil, 50g buckwheat flour, 50g plain flour, sea salt and black pepper,

For the filling: 400g spinach, 75g ricotta cheese, 2 egg yolks, 100g Parmesan, freshly grated, salt and black pepper, freshly-grated nutmeg to taste, 300mls white sauce, 2 tbsp Parmesan, freshly grated to finish

Whisk together the milk, egg, oil, salt and pepper. Place the buckwheat and plain flour in a tall jug or liquidiser goblet. Add 100 mils of the milk and egg mixture and whisk together. Continue to add until a smooth batter.

Allow to stand for 20 mins before cooking.

Cook eight pancakes as described above and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

To make the filling, steam the spinach for two minutes or until it has wilted. Allow to cool slightly and wring out any excessive moisture.

Place the spinach, 100g Parmesan, two egg yolks, nutmeg and seasoning into a food processor and blend until smooth. Take each pancake and place two tablespoons of the filling in the centre and fold in half. Lay pancakes on a lightly-oiled oven-proof dish with a little space between, and pour over the white sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and bake for 30 mins until the surface is bubbling and golden.

Buckwheat flour can be bought in most major supermarkets and makes delicious crisp, thin pancakes.

Blinis

Makes approx 25

2 eggs, 200ml semi-skimmed milk, 40g buckwheat flour, 125g strong plain four, ½ tsp salt, 5g easy-blend yeast,sunflower oil for cooking

For the topping: 100g smoked salmon, 100g crème fraiche, 1 tbsp horseradish (optional), a few sprigs of dill

Mix the eggs and milk. Place both flours, salt and yeast in a bowl. Gradually whisk the eggs and milk into the flour to make a smooth batter. Leave the batter to stand in a warm place for about one hour.

To cook blinis, take a piece of scrunched-up kitchen paper, dab with a little sunflower oil and use this to wipe a thin film of oil over the hot pan.

Pour one-and-a-half tablespoons of batter into the pan. It will spread to about 10cm across.

Allow blini to cook for about a minute and flip over. Cook the blini until it is golden brown on both sides. Spread with crème fraiche or a mix of crème fraiche and horseradish. Top with a slither of smoked salmon and a sprig of dill.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.