Phil Vickery's perfect pancakes
Phil Vickery treats us to a three course menu for Pancake Day - that’s a starter, main and pudding in pancake form!
Pancake batter
Serves: makes 8 pancakes
Ingredients
100g plain flourApprox 200ml milk2 medium eggsPinch salt25g melted, salted butterOil, for greasing
Method
Place the flour in a large bowl; add half the milk, eggs and salt then beat together. Slowly add the rest of the milk to make a thin batter then whisk in the melted butter.
Heat a 20cm non-stick frying pan, pour in a spoonful of oil and swirl around
Add the batter and cook over a high heat till lightly browned. Flip over and cook for a further 1 minute to blister slightly.
Turn the pancake out and repeat the process. There’s no need to layer with greaseproof paper, they won’t stick, trust me…
Cover and use when needed or eat warm straight from the pan
Sweetcorn pancakes with crispy bacon and eggs
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 x 300g can sweetcorn250mls milk, roughly½ small onion, finely chopped4 medium eggs separated225g self raising flour6 tbsp chopped fresh coriander5 tbsp olive oilsaltfreshly milled black pepperpinch cream of tartar16 slices crisp streaky bacon8 fried eggsMaple syrupSiracha hot sauce
Method
Place the sweetcorn and onion into a jug with the milk and blitz with a hand blender until smooth
Whisk the egg yolks, corn milk and half the flour together, once nice and smooth, add the rest of the flour, you should have smooth batter
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until thick and foamy, then fold into the egg yolk mixture, carefully, along with the coriander. Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat some oil in a non blini frying pan, then add large spoonfuls of the mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes then flip over, cook for a further 2-3 minutes until well puffed and slightly browned. Repeat the process until all the mixture is cooked, keep warm.
Top each pancake with bacon, maple syrup, eggs and a little hot sauce
Salmon and leek pancake rolls
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce:
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes in juice2 tbsp olive oil1 large onion, peeled and chopped finely1 tbsp tomato puree1 tsp castor sugar1 x 10g any stock cube, fish included for fish based dishDash of any vinegarPepper to seasonCup water6 tbsp fresh basil roughly chopped4 x 23cm cooked pancakes (see basic recipe)1 large leek, washed well and sliced finely the softened in a little oil and butter4 x 100g fingers of salmon fillet, skinned and boneless (frozen defrosted is fine)4 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
Method
To make the tomato sauce, place all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil
Simmer for 15 minutes or until you have a nice sauce consistency. Just before using add the basil and stir through.
Preheat the oven to 200C / gas 6. Lay each pancake out on a board and place the salmon fillet on one half. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Top with some leek and 1 tbsp mayo, fold over and fill up making sure the fold is underneath. Repeat with the other 3 pancakes.
Place into a baking dish, slightly apart, then spoon over the tomato sauce
Bake in the pre heated oven for 15-18 minutes. Remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes before eating.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
100g plain flour2 medium eggsApprox 200ml milk25g melted, salted butterFinely grated zest of 1 orangePinch each of caster sugar and saltOil, for greasing250g caster sugar100ml fresh orange juice50ml water25ml brandy25g cubed and cold salted butterFinely grated zest of 2 oranges
Method
Place the flour in a large bowl, add half the milk and eggs and beat together. Slowly add the rest of the milk to make a thin batter then whisk in the melted butter, orange zest, sugar and salt.
Next, make the sauce - stir the caster sugar in a pan over a low heat until the sugar turns to caramel. Once the sugar is a deep colour CAREFULLY add the orange juice and water - you may need to stand back as it is likely to spit - and stir in. Re boil and reduce until you have a nice thick sauce
Once the sauce is finished add the fresh orange zest, brandy and butter stir through and keep warm.
Heat a little oil in a 20cm non-stick frying pan until the oil begins to smoke. Pour in just enough of the batter to cover the base of the pan and cook until set and just brown on the edges. Flip or turn over the crepe and cook the other side until just set.
Turn crepe out onto a plate and repeat to make more crepes using the remaining batter.
To finish, warm the sauce in a shallow sauté pan, fold the crepes into quarters and place in the hot sauce to warm through. I like to serve these with vanilla ice cream and / or double cream.