Pancake Day

Been a quiet on the blog front lately - all sorts of life changes including moving house, going part time at work, looking after my dad etc etc. BUT, now I'm back and ready to share lots of lovely recipes. Today is Shrove Tuesday, the last feast day before Lent and an opportunity to use up all the naughty goodies in your larder before 40 days of fasting. For most folk these days that means giving up alcohol or chocolate rather than the more puritanical abandonment of fats, eggs and meat. However, it's always a good excuse for a pancake! So many cultures and cuisines have pancakes in their repertoire, the Russian blini, French crepe, Korean pajeon and so on. Old fashioned but classic, the British pancake remains my favourite.

Take 110g / 4oz plain flour and sift into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Make a well and add 2 eggs and start to mix together. Start adding the liquid - 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water (I like to add soda water if I have it in - adds more air to the mixture), whisking well. Don't worry about lumps, they will disappear as you whisk. You should end up with a smooth thin cream. At this point I like to set the mix, covered, aside for 30 minutes. Melt 50g/2oz butter in a 7 inch frying pan and then once melted, pour into a bowl and set aside to use to lubricate the pan before making each pancake. Now, get the pan really hot, then turn down the heat to medium. Add a ladleful of pancake mix - this is the tester and so can be eaten by the cook! Swirl the mixture around the pan to coat the base evenly. It will only take half a minute and you will see the batter forming a skin on the visible side. Flip the pancake - with a palette knife if you're not feeling brave or go for the full toss! Cook for another 10 seconds or so and then transfer to a warm plate. Continue the process, layering up the pancakes with greasproof paper or kitchen towel. Serve each pancake sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon and rolled up. Yum! Makes about 12.