Donal Skehan's Shrove Tuesday extravaganza!
It’s flipping pancake day!
Donal’s here to help us celebrate Shrove Tuesday in style, starting us off with the perfect brunch option - a skillet pancake with fresh chives and smoked salmon!
Chive skillet pancake
Serves 4
Ingredients
150g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Large handful chives, chopped
2 eggs
100ml milk
50g butter, melted
2 eggs
100ml crème fraîche
200g smoked salmon
50g watercress
Small handful fresh dill, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and chives, holding back a little to serve. Whisk in the eggs and milk along with half the butter.
2. Heat a 23cm pan over a low heat. Add the remaining butter to the pan followed by the mix. Cover with a lid and leave to cook for 8-10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to peek.
3. Flip and cook for another 5-6 minutes until cooked through and golden.
4. While the pancake is cooking, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat. Add the eggs and bring to a steady simmer. Simmer for 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water then peel and halve.
5. To serve, slice the pancake into wedges. Top with crème fraîche salmon, watercress, egg, remaining chives and dill (alongside a little Prosecco if you fancy!).
Now it’s time for the classics!
From American hotcakes to delicate French crepes, Donal shares how to get the most out of just a couple of store cupboard ingredients.
Crepes
Serves 4
Ingredients
160g plain flour
3 large eggs
300ml milk
110ml water
3 tbsp butter, melted
A pinch of salt
Method
1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and with a spoon make a well in the center.Add the salt then break the eggs into the well and using a whisk slowly incorporate them into the flour. Don’t worry too much about lumps as they should disappear when you add the rest of the liquid. Gradually add the milk and water until you have a light batter.
2. Heat a little butter in your frying pan over a hot heat, and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter, stir through to combine. Add a ladleful of the batter to the hot pan and move from side to side until it evenly covers the surface of the pan. Reduce the heat and cook for about a minute each side or until the batter begins to take a nice golden colour.
3. Feel free to try your hand at flipping halfway through! Serve straight away with your filling of choice. Alternatively you can cook all the batter off and save the pancakes for later. Simply layer the crepes on top of each other, cover with some cling film and store in the fridge. They should heat up well in a microwave.
American pancakes
Serves 4
Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
220ml milk
2 large eggs
A little butter, melted
Method
1. To make the pancake batter, put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Measure the milk in a jug and add the eggs. Whisk lightly to combine, then add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix until blended and you have a thick batter. Set aside in the fridge.
2. To cook the pancakes, brush a warm frying pan with a little melted butter and pour in a small ladleful of the batter. The pancakes should each be about 10cm wide.
3. Allow them to cook until little bubbles start to appear and the edges become a little dry, then turn over to cook for about a minute until golden brown.