Meat Free Monday

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Shrove or Pancake Tuesday* takes place tomorrow; so whizz up some batter today, leave it overnight in the fridge and you will be all set in the morning  to make delicious pancakes for breakfast.

Pancakes are one of those things that are so easy to make and you can fancy them up in lots of delicious ways. You will have noticed those containers of ready made pancake batter in the shops, but really making your own batter couldn’t be easier. There are so many variations out there but this is my recipe for the easiest american style blueberry pancakes.  They are light and delicious. I use self raising flour for these light and fluffy pancakes (plain flour will make flatter more crêpe like pancakes). This recipe would work really well with raspberries also. It doesn’t get much simpler than this as there is no weighing of ingredients. The only thing to remember is to make sure you use the same cup measurement of the flour and the milk.

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 cup of milk 
  • 1 egg
  • Handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the milk and egg. Whisk all the ingredients together  until you achieve a nice smooth batter consistency.  Then I add in a handful of blueberries to the mix.

To make the pancakes, heat a small heavy-based frying until very hot and then turn the heat down to medium.  Lightly grease with oil or a little butter and then ladle in enough batter – depending on the size you want the pancake to be, tilting the pan so the mixture spreads evenly.  Cook over a moderate heat for 1-2 minutes or until the batter looks dry on the top and begins to brown at the edges.  Flip the pancake over with a palette knife or fish slice and cook the second side.  The blueberries will break up slightly and ooze into the mixture which makes it all the more delicious.

 

*It takes place on the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Christian season of fasting and prayer called Lent.  The word shrove is the past tense of the English verb shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and doing penance.  The celebratory aspect of the day was associated with releasing high spirits before the somber season of Lent. The tradition of making pancakes on this day comes from the tradition of a last feast with ingredients such as sugar, fat and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.  

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