Pancake day 2020 (25/02/20)

2020 marks my tenth year teaching food in schools- and every February, without fail, the pupils expect, they demand pancakes on on or near pancake day. Occasionally I have allowed pancakes to become the focus of a lesson. Last year I had the year 9's practice pancake art, with some success. Generally, I try to avoid them because they are too simple, someone always burns them, and for some reason pancakes generate a lot of smoke, despite this, kids will quite happily watch them burn until I get the tell tale whiff and plunge the red hot, smoking pan into cold water, and are yet another excuse for the kids to bring in canned whipped cream and chocolate- saying that, we could be making beef stew and dumplings and someone will try to convince me they need to add chocolate.

If it wasn't for the kids, my own included, pancake day would slip past without me really noticing. Which is a shame, because I also really enjoy a pancake - and they don't have to be fancy for me, some lemon juice and sugar is good enough - a diet of television as a child ensured there was always a squeezy bottle of lemon juice in the cupboard in February, when a fresh lemon would do - it might not save money, but there's less packaging involved. If I really want to make something special, I go for Scotch pancakes with butter, or some form of cooked fruit and cream.

Like all great dishes, pancakes are incredibly versatile and can be served with sweet or savoury toppings/fillings. Making pancakes has been a tradition for nearly 600 years, it is supposed to be about using up eggs and fats before fasting. I can't speak for other families, but we do the pancakes, not the fast. In a spirit of the occasion, I decided to make a pancake with some leftover ingredients I had - this is a simple pancakes recipe of flour, egg and milk, leave out the extras if you wish and add any toppings you desire -it will make around 6.

If you enjoyed reading my blog and making this recipe, remember to click like. Make sure you don't miss any future posts, by signing up at the top of the page. Please find the recipe and method below.

Ingredients:

50g plain flour

1 egg

150ml milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

pinch of smoked sea salt

4 grinds of black pepper

sliced cooked ham

grated mature cheddar

vegetable oil

butter

Method:

1:Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl.

2:Mix the milk, egg and mustard in a jug.

3: Whisk together all of the ingredients to achieve a smooth, thin batter.

4: Heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil, with a knob of butter, over a medium heat in a frying pan - the oil will prevent the butter from burning.

5: When the oil begins to lightly smoke, pour in some batter. Enough so that when you tip and rotate the frying pan, the batter will run to the circumference of the pan making a thin layer.

5: Allow the batter to cook through(around a minute) - it should be dry on top - when you shake the pan, it should move freely, it's ready to flip or turn, depending on how brave you are. If you want melted cheese, add now. Cook for another minute on the other side - slide onto a plate, fill (if you haven't done so already) and fold.

2: Mix the milk, egg and mustard in a jug.owl.