Today is Shrove Tuesday, which in the UK is pancake day.
'Shrove' comes from 'shrive', which means to give or gain absolution through confession and absolution, as preparation for the religious season of Lent. My housemate is actually giving up dairy for Lent this year, so the traditional feast to use up the milk and eggs has particular relevance.
Londonist has a good round up of the public events going on in London today, but even if you don't make it to any of them, you can still celebrate a very authentic Pancake Day at home.
Having spent some time looking up recipies for American-style pancakes, I'm starting to see the point of using Bisquick, but regular English pancakes are simple enough that there's no real purpose to all the kits and mixes the supermarkets are trying to flog.
For ten or twelve pancakes you need
4oz / 110g plain flour.
2 large eggs.
10fl oz / 275ml semi skimmed milk. (Delia Smith, original source of this recipie, faffs about with whole milk and water, but really - life's too short!)
+
butter or oil for cooking. (Delia says butter, I use oil, which gets hotter without burning, but in any case she's right about the amount - you only need the slightest sugestion of either - the pan needs to be greased, but the pancakes must not fry in fat.)
Break eggs into flour, beat, and then gradually add the milk, whisking all along, until your batter is smooth. You can make up the batter several hours in advance if that's more convenient, or when you're ready to cook, if that's more convenient.
It you don't feel confident about flipping your pancake (loosen it all around with a spatula first), you can slide the half cooked pancake onto a plate, put the pan upsie down over it, and flip it back that way.
Just accept that your first pancake will probably be a mess, and make sure the pan's hotter and you use less batter for the second, and then - away you go!
The traditional topping is sugar and lemon juice, but so many things are tasty on pancakes, so why limit yourself?
'Shrove' comes from 'shrive', which means to give or gain absolution through confession and absolution, as preparation for the religious season of Lent. My housemate is actually giving up dairy for Lent this year, so the traditional feast to use up the milk and eggs has particular relevance.
Londonist has a good round up of the public events going on in London today, but even if you don't make it to any of them, you can still celebrate a very authentic Pancake Day at home.
Having spent some time looking up recipies for American-style pancakes, I'm starting to see the point of using Bisquick, but regular English pancakes are simple enough that there's no real purpose to all the kits and mixes the supermarkets are trying to flog.For ten or twelve pancakes you need
4oz / 110g plain flour.
2 large eggs.
10fl oz / 275ml semi skimmed milk. (Delia Smith, original source of this recipie, faffs about with whole milk and water, but really - life's too short!)
+
butter or oil for cooking. (Delia says butter, I use oil, which gets hotter without burning, but in any case she's right about the amount - you only need the slightest sugestion of either - the pan needs to be greased, but the pancakes must not fry in fat.)
Break eggs into flour, beat, and then gradually add the milk, whisking all along, until your batter is smooth. You can make up the batter several hours in advance if that's more convenient, or when you're ready to cook, if that's more convenient.
It you don't feel confident about flipping your pancake (loosen it all around with a spatula first), you can slide the half cooked pancake onto a plate, put the pan upsie down over it, and flip it back that way.
Just accept that your first pancake will probably be a mess, and make sure the pan's hotter and you use less batter for the second, and then - away you go!
The traditional topping is sugar and lemon juice, but so many things are tasty on pancakes, so why limit yourself?
1 comment:
Go for Bisquick!!!
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