Midweek Meals: Flip out for these 5 Pancake Tuesday recipes

Batter at the ready - but how will you serve up this February fave?

Pancake Tuesday is tomorrow - get a look at some ieFood faves!

Quick And Easy Pancakes

No resting time makes these pancakes as close to instant as possible

Servings

5

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 250g (1 cup) plain flour

• 1 teaspoon bread soda/bicarbonate of soda

• 2 small-medium eggs (1 large egg should be fine either)

• 150ml buttermilk

• Optional

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil for frying/greasing the pan.

Method

1. Put the flour and bread soda into a large bowl and stir so that they’re combined.

2. Make a well in the centre and crack in the 2 eggs, pour in the buttermilk (add the vanilla extract if using). Whisk until you have a batter. Don’t worry too much if you have small lumps, as these should disappear after the next stage.

3. Put the oil in a heavy, shallow non-stick frying pan (see notes on frying pan below). Before you put the pan on the heat, spread the oil over the surface. I like to use a little bit of kitchen paper for this.

4. Next, put it on a medium heat and allow it to come to temperature. This takes about 5 minutes or so.

5. Once the pan is hot, give the batter a second vigorous whisk and you should see those lumps disappear (or at worst get smaller, they’ll be gone completely in the cooking process don’t worry).

6. Using a tablespoon as a measure, pour out 3-4 pancakes onto the surface of the frying pan. Once the bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pancakes, and the batter has changed colour from pale to slightly darker, flip the pancakes using a non-stick spatula.

7. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until the pancakes turn golden on both sides. Lift and serve.

8. If you want to wait for all the pancakes to be cooked before serving, pop them onto a heat-proof plate and cover with a bit of baking parchment/tin foil, then a heavy tea towel to stop them from getting cold.

9. Lift the “insulation” everytime you cook another batch to add to the pile.

Apple and blueberry pancakes

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Fruit-filled pancakes are a perfect start to the weekend

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 35 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 300g of self raising flour

• a pinch of sea salt

• 1 tsp bread soda, sieved

• 285ml of buttermilk

• 4 tbsp natural yogurt

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 85g melted butter

• 2 medium sized apples, peeled and roughly grated

• 40g blueberries – more for serving

• maple syrup to serve

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and bread soda together.

2. Lightly whisk the buttermilk, yogurt and eggs together. Whisk in the melted butter.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the buttermilk mixture until a smooth batter is formed. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least a half an hour.

4. Stir in the grated apple and the 40g of blueberries.

5. Add a knob of butter and a very small dash of sunflower oil to a flat pan over a high heat. Spoon a large dollop of the batter onto the hot pan. Once it is going golden underneath turn the pancake and cook until golden on the other side. Repeat until the batter is used up. Serve with some extra blueberries, natural yogurt and maple syrup.

Spelt pancakes with banana, walnuts and honey

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Nothing says 'weekend breakfast' like fluffy pancakes with chopped nuts, bananas and a generous drizzle of honey

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 120g spelt flour

• 80g plain flour

• 1 tsp bread soda

• 2 tsp baking powder

• pinch of fine sea salt

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 tsp honey

• 1 tsp vanilla essence

• 360ml buttermilk

• sunflower oil for frying

• 2 banana, sliced

• handful of walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

• 1 tbsp honey

Method

1. Sieve the two flours, bread soda, baking powder and salt together.

2. Mix the eggs with the honey, vanilla and buttermilk.

3. Make a well in the flours and whisk in half of the liquid, once combined add the rest. Whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Set aside in the fridge for at least a half an hour.

4. Heat the sunflower oil until very hot. Spoon about four generous soupspoons of batter onto the pan. Allow to cook until golden underneath. Flip it over.

5. Turn onto a warmed dinner plate and cover it with another warm plate. Continue to make pancakes, re-coating the pan with oil when required.

6. Serve with sliced banana, toasted nuts and drizzled with honey.

7. Natural yoghurt or a spoon of Ricotta is nice on the side.

Savoury Dutch Baby pancakes

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

These delicious ‘pancakes’ are oven baked, rather than fried.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 German

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs

• 140g plain flour

• 200ml full fat milk

• 1 tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp ground black pepper

• 2-3 spring onions, chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

• 35g butter

• 60g freshly grated parmesan or gruyere cheese, or a combination of both

• Suggested Toppings

• 2 balls burrata cheese

• 250g roasted cherry tomatoes

• Crispy smoked streaky bacon

• Lemon wedges

• A drizzle of runny honey

Method

1. Heat your oven to 200 Celsius, and pop in an ovenproof skillet or non-stick frying pan. It should be about 24cm in diameter. Heat the pan for twenty minutes in the oven, you want it very hot before you add the pancake batter.

2. While the oven and skillet are heating up, make the batter.

3. Beat the eggs in a food mixer or a large bowl until they are light and airy, about three minutes at high speed should do it.

4. Add the milk and gently whisk that through to combine it with the eggs. Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl over the milk and eggs and add the salt and black pepper. Fold in the flour until you have a smooth batter, using a whisk towards the end of you need to smooth out a few lumps.

5. Next, add the chopped thyme and the chopped spring onion and stir those through the batter.

6. Melt the butter and remove the skillet from the oven, taking care not to burn yourself as it will be very hot by now. Pour the melted butter into the pan and swirl it around to cover the whole surface.

7. Quickly pour in the batter before the butter begins to burn. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the surface of the batter and return the skillet to the oven.

8. Bake the pancake for 15-20 minutes until it has puffed up in the pan and is golden brown. This will likely take about twenty minutes, but check it after fifteen, as depending upon your oven, it might cook a little more quickly. When the pancake has risen past the sides of the skillet and is puffed up, beautifully golden brown and looks rather like a large Yorkshire pudding, it is done.

9. Remove the skillet from the oven and arrange your toppings over the pancake in the pan. Remember to drizzle the burrata with honey and a little lemon juice if you are serving it with your pancake.

10. Serve your Dutch Baby immediately. Pop the skillet down in the middle of the table and just let everyone help themselves.

Simple Traditional-Style Pancake Batter (Gluten-Free)

While pancakes are a joy for many of us - especially on Pancake Tuesday - the flour that is usually used to make them contains gluten, which can cause abdominal pain, bloating, recurring mouth ulcers, weight loss, and digestive issues in coeliacs.

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Dessert

Cuisine

 European

Ingredients

• 250g gluten free flour, or gluten free white bread mix

• Pinch of salt

• 1 large egg

• 400ml milk

• Butter for frying

Method

1. Combine all dry ingredients in bowl.

2. Add egg and milk and beat until batter is smooth with no lumps.

3. Let the batter stand for 10 minutes.

4. Heat a little butter on the pan and use a soup ladle to drop the batter onto the pan.

5. When the mixture is puffed and bubbling on top, turn and cook on other side.