Recipe. The perfect recipes for Pancake Day

It's pancake day so here are a couple of recipes to celebrate.

Pancakes

The basic mixture for both savoury and sweet.
100g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml semi skimmed milk
25g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for cooking
1tbsp sunflower oil

Optional toppings:-

Grated cheese, shredded ham, fried mushroom
Lemon, sugar, yogurt, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, blueberries, banana, fresh or frozen berries.
For a healthy topping try blueberries, potassium rich bananas, natural maple syrup and toasted pecans adding healthy fats, fibre, vitamins and protein.

Method

1. Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour from the outside of the well as you mix.

2. Gradually pour in the milk, whilst whisking until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps. Stir in the melted butter. Cover and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When the butter has melted, spoon 1-2 ladles of the batter into the pan. Carefully swirl the pan around until the batter has coated the bottom, cook 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Repeat with the remaining oil and better.

4. To serve, transfer the pancakes to a plate and top with

Vegan pancakes serves 2

125g self-raising flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 ml soya or almond milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoon sunflower oil, for frying
Pinch salt

Method

1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix with a whisk until smooth.

2. Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil spreading it around the pan. Once the pan is hot, pour a small ladle full of the batter into one side of the pan and spread with the back of spoon until around 4 inches/ 10 cm in diameter.

3. Make a second pancake exactly the same way, greasing the pan with the remaining oil.

4. Cook for about a minute, or until bubbles are popping on the surface and just the edges look dry. Quickly and carefully flip over and cook for a further minute, or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate.

Photo by Portuguese Gravity on Unsplash