Pancakes The English have such wonderful names. Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are all associated with Lent, just before Easter, In France, galettes and crepes are widely eaten, with savoury and sweet fillings respectively. In Brittany they use a thinner pancake mixture with buckwheat as well as wheat flour in it.
The main problem with pancakes is that they really need to be eaten as soon as they are cooked, for they are impossible to keep hot or crisp for more than a minute or two. The ingredients for English pancakes are exactly the same as for Yorkshire Pudding- it is only what you do with them that is different. You need 4 ounces of plain flour, 1 egg, half a pint of milk and some butter. You will also need a mixing bowl and a frying pan, and a ballon whisk helps, although a fork will do. Put the flour in the mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and break the egg into it. Whisk into it some of the flour, making a thick paste. Keep mixing in more of the flour, adding some milk if the paste becomes too thick to manage, and beating out any lumps. When all the flour has been incorporated, add the rest of the milk and whisk the mixture thoroughly. The mixture should be like single cream in consistency, but if in doubt err on the liquid side. Set the mixture to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour- this is important. Before using it, whisk the mixture again. To cook your pancakes, you need a hot pan. It helps if the pan is very solid and well-seasoned so that things don't stick in it. Get the pan very hot, get a good grip of it and run a little butter quickly around it. (Pancakes tend to be associated with a strong smell of burning butter.) Pour in a big spoonful of the mixture and swirl the mixture round quickly so it thinly coats the whole base of the pan. (Pancakes should be thin, which is why it is better to make the mixture liquid). Return it to the heat and cook it a minute or two, peeling up the edge occasionally to see how the underside is doing. When the bottom is browned, give the pan a good shake to loosen the pancake, and then if you are feeling immensely confident, give the pan a flip to turn the pancake over. If you are not so sure about this, keep the pan still and turn the pancake over with a spatula. Cook the other side, and serve it immediately. Wipe the pan around with a paper towel to clean out the burnt bits and start the next one. Keep this up till no-one can eat any more and you want yours, then throw the rest of the mixture down the sink- it doesn't really keep very well. If you are making pancakes with savoury fillings (chopped ham and cheese is a good one), add the pre-cooked ingredients while you are cooking the second side to heat them, and then fold the pancake in half over them when it is done. Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
