Savoury Pancake Day Recipes

Happy Pancake Day! For those of you that fancy something other than lemon and sugar, check out these savoury pancakes.

Healthy Cheese & Corn Pancakes (Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients

• 1 x 340 g tin of sweetcorn
• 6 spring onions
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 200 g cottage cheese
• 150 g wholemeal self-raising flour
• 50 ml semi-skimmed milk
• olive oil
• 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 4 small bananas
• Tabasco jalapeño sauce , optional

Method

1. Tip the sweetcorn into a bowl, juice and all. Trim the spring onions and finely slice with the chilli (deseed if you like), then add to the bowl along with the eggs, cottage cheese and flour.
2. Mix together, then gradually loosen with the milk to a thick but oozy batter. Lightly season with sea salt and black pepper.
3. I like to cook and serve 2 pancakes at a time so each person gets a lovely hot plate of food. Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and wipe with a piece of oiled kitchen paper.
4. Place 1 rasher of bacon in the pan and as soon as it starts to release its smoky fat, wiggle that around the pan. Add 2 small ladles of batter to one side and flatten them slightly.
5. Peel 1 banana and cut into four chunky slices at an angle. Add them to the pan to caramelise, turning when golden. Once the pancakes are golden on the bottom, flip them over to cook on the other side. Finessing your temperature control so that everything is ready at the same time is an art – just tweak the temperature to help you out until you get your groove.
6. Get your first lucky customer seated at the table and serve their pancakes with the banana, bacon and Tabasco (I’m loving the green jalapeño one here) for drizzling, if they fancy it, while you crack on with the next portion.

Crispy Pancakes with Creamy Chicken & Bacon (BBC Good Food)

Ingredients

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Cook the chicken breasts for 5-8 mins each side until golden brown and cooked through, then transfer to a plate. Tip the lardons into the pan and sizzle for a few mins until crispy, then tip out onto the plate with the chicken.
2. If the pan looks dry, add the remaining oil, then the onion. Cook for 5 mins until softened and translucent, then stir in the mushrooms and some seasoning. Cook for 5-10 mins until the mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid in the pan has cooked. Stir in the flour, mixing it into the mushrooms to make a chunky paste, then pour in the milk, a little at a time, whisking continuously until you have a smooth sauce. Bubble for 2-3 mins until thick. Chop the chicken into small chunks and add back to the pan along with the lardons and any juices from the plate. Check the seasoning, stir in the parsley, then leave to cool and chill until you’re ready to fill the pancakes.
3. To make the pancakes, tip the flour into a large bowl and season with 1/2 tsp salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in the 2 eggs. Pour in the milk, then use a large whisk to combine the eggs and milk, working the flour into the liquid until you have a smooth, thin batter. Heat a large frying pan or crêpe pan with a drizzle of oil.
4. When the pan is hot, pour in just under a ladleful of the batter and quickly swirl the pan to spread it across the surface, filling any gaps with an extra drizzle of batter. When the underside of the pancake is golden, flip and cook for 30 secs more. Transfer to a plate and make three more pancakes in the same way, then cool until you’re ready to assemble. If you want to make the pancakes a day ahead, once cool stack on a plate, separated with sheets of baking parchment, then wrap the plate in cling film. Chill for up to 2 days.
5. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line two baking trays with baking parchment. Take one pancake and brush a circle of beaten egg around the edge. Pile a quarter of the chicken mixture into the centre of the pancake (the sauce should have thickened while chilling), then fold the pancake over and press the edges together to make a pasty shape. Transfer to a baking tray and continue assembling the remaining pancakes. Brush the top of each one with more egg and scatter over the breadcrumbs, then bake for 20-25 mins, swapping the trays halfway through. Leave to cool for 5 mins before serving with salad or baked beans, if you like.

American Style Pancakes with Sausage (BBC Food)

Ingredients 

• 6 sausages, deconstructed 
• 450g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 600ml buttermilk
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 50g butter, melted
• Maple syrup to serve

Method

1. Deconstruct the sausages and put the sausagemeat in a large frying pan and break it up using a wooden spatula or spoon. Fry the meat, stirring regularly and continuing to break it up, until well browned and cooked through. If a lot of fat has rendered out, turn out onto a piece of kitchen paper, otherwise leave in the frying pan, off the heat, until you need it.

2. Put the flour in a large bowl with the baking powder and add a pinch of salt. Mix to combine and remove any lumps then make a well in the middle and set aside. Combine the egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.

3. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour and whisk until well combined. Add a large spoonful of the egg whites and fold in using a large metal spoon. Stir in the rest of the egg whites, trying to preserve as much of the air in the whites as possible. You should have a fluffy, bubbly batter.

4. Heat a frying pan (preferably around 20cm/8in) to a medium heat and rub over a little butter. Pour 1½ ladlefuls of the batter into the frying pan – it should spread out to around 20cm/8in in diameter. Take a couple of tablespoons of the sausage mixture and sprinkle over the pancake. The pancake will rise up around the sausage meat as it cooks. When the pancake has browned on the bottom and is firm enough to flip, turn it over quickly and cook for another minute on the other side. Repeat with the rest of the batter and the sausage meat. Serve with maple syrup.

Mexican Mince Pancakes (Good to Know)

Ingredients 

• 500g pack fresh mince
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1tsp each ground coriander and ground cumin
• ½ tsp dried crushed chillies
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g (3½oz) each frozen soya beans and frozen sweetcorn
• 1tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2tbsp frozen chopped coriander
• Pancakes
• 100g Cheddar
• Handful baby plum tomatoes
• Chopped cucumber
• Tortilla chips

Method

1. Heat a large frying pan, add the mince and onion. Let it brown for a few mins, then add the spices, tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer for 15 mins.

2. Add the frozen soya beans and sweetcorn, then the ketchup, along with 4tbsp water, and simmer for 10 mins. Stir in coriander.

3. Make the pancakes. Lay them out on the work surface and divide the hot mince mixture between them. Roll them up and pack tightly in a flameproof dish. Sprinkle with the Cheddar and put under the grill (not too close) for about 10 mins, so that they warm through and the cheese melts and turns golden. Serve hot with the salad and tortilla chips.