It's Shrove Tuesday!
Georgina likes some pancakes
Pancakes
main veg meat
Makes about a half dozen pancakes

Ingredients
Method
Sieve the flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre and break in the eggs.
Whisk the egg into the flour, then gradually add the milk and melted butter if you like, whisking frantically.
It should end up the consistency of double cream. I would say more like single cream - if you like to get your pancakes thin, and crispy around the edges.
Leave to stand for ½ an hour.

Get your frying pan good and hot, then grease with a little butter, rolling it around as it bubbles and turns nut brown. Now pour in enough batter to cover the bottom - rolling the pan so it covers evenly.
Don't move the pancake until it crisps up and releases from the pan of its own accord, then flip dexterously and fry the other side. (Don't worry - the first one is always rubbish!).
Fill the cooked pancakes with the tasty topping of your choice.
Leaving the mixture to stand for a while makes a big difference since it allows the flour to absorb the liquid evenly.
The melted butter - not so much.
Feel free to add an extra egg yolk for richness without adding the leatheriness from having too much white.
Unless you have the pan super hot it will take between 3 and 4 minutes to fry each pancake (and that doesn't include cleaning the ones you flipped badly from off the furniture) so you'll need to plan ahead.
You can keep your pancakes warm after frying them, stacked in a dish and covered with foil in a low oven.
Or better yet, you can fill them as you go, rolling them up and keeping them in the covered dish in the oven so the insides warm up too.


Tasty Toppings...
Georgina seal of approval
Bacon and Cheese
Grated cheese, mozzarella slices and crispy bacon (fry the bacon slowly in plenty of oil).

Smoked Salmon and Boursin
Thinly slice tomato and set aside in a bowl with a grinding of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cover half the pancake with a layer of Boursin, a layer of the tomatoes and then a layer of smoked salmon.
Fold over, warm through, serve.
Delicious!

Bacon and Brie
Thinly slice tomato and set aside in a bowl with a grinding of salt and pepper, a generous slosh of balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cover half the pancake with thin slices of Brie, a layer of tomatoes and a layer of crispy bacon (fry the bacon slowly in plenty of oil).
This pancake would benefit from a rocket salad and balsamic vinaigrette on the side.

Georgina seal of approval
Banana and Nutella
Smear the pancake with Nutella (and mashed banana if you like).

Lemon Meringue
  • 150ml double cream or cream cheese?
  • Zest and juice of half a lemon
  • 3 tbsp lemon curd
  • 2 meringue nests, roughly crushed.
Whip the cream (adding cream cheese might work better) until it form soft peaks.
Stir in the lemon zest and juice 1 tbsp lemon curd to form a soft smooth cream.
Lightly fold through the meringue nests (in chunks, but not powdered) and 2 more tablespoons of lemon curd to give a marbled effect.
Divide the mixture between 4-6 pancakes and serve dusted with icing sugar.
A bit runny, but quite promising.

Spinach & Ricotta
Spinach and Ricotta Pancakes
  • 150g spinach, cooked, squeezed dry
  • 150g ricotta
  • couple tablespoons grated parmesan
  • tablespoon or two of double cream
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • pinch of salt
Wash the spinach and steam it in a covered pot in the water which sticks to it after draining. Squeeze it dry and chop thoroughly.
Mix with about the same volume of ricotta maybe slightly more, a handful of grated parmesan, a grating of nutmeg and a pinch of salt.
Loosen with a little cream so you can spread it over your cooked, flipped pancake, and have it soften a little from the warmth of the pan.
Roll up and serve with a little tomato salsa. If you like.
Tasty. Obviously you can add any other kind of cheese or none you like - Gruyère or Vacherin are nice.