TAKE ME! - Estuary LIFE Magazines

Preparation
Basic pancakes
with sugar and
lemon
Ingredients
For the pancake mixture:
To serve:
• 110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
• Caster sugar
• Pnch of salt
• Lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• Lemon wedges
• 200ml/7fl oz milk & 75ml/3fl oz water
• 50g/2oz butter
Sift flour and salt into a bowl with a sieve held high, so the flour gets an airing. Make a well in the centre and
break in the eggs. Begin whisking - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl.
Gradually add small quantities of the milk and water, still whisking (don’t worry about lumps as they will
disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any bits of flour
from the edge into the centre and whisk again until the batter is smooth, with consistency of thin cream. Melt
the butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to
lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.
Get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re
using the correct amount of batter. 2 tbsp is about right. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it
can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to
get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with
a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the
other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
Stack the pancakes between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate over simmering water, to keep them warm.
To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half
again to form triangles, or simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra
sections of lemon.
Spinach & Ricotta
Pancakes
Ingredients:
• 1 large onion - halved & sliced
• Butter
• 1 garlic clove - crushed
• 1 bag spinach - 250g, washed
• 1 x 250g tub Ricotta
• 1 lemon - zested
• 50g Parmesan* - grated
• 8 pancakes (not sweet ones)
• 350g jar quality tomato pasta sauce
Method:
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cook
the onions in a knob of butter in a large
pan, until soft, caramelised and dark
golden. Add garlic and spinach and cook
until spinach is completely wilted. Cool.
Mix in Ricotta, lemon zest and half the
Parmesan and season. Divide between 8
pancakes and roll each one up to make
an evenly-filled tube.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom
of a baking dish. Sit the pancakes side
by side in the dish (like cannelloni). Pour
the rest of the sauce over. Sprinkle over
the rest of the Parmesan. Bake for 25-30
minutes until bubbling and golden.
Approx. Per serving: 506 kcalories, protein
22.6g, carbohydrate 58.7g, fat 21.7 g,
saturated fat 11.1g, fibre 4.5g, salt 2.59 g
*Vegetarian alternative is fine
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