Tag: Pancakes

Spinach Pancakes – 2

  • This version of pancakes is the thicker type more like an American style pancake.
  • In Polish they would be known more as  racuszki or placki.
  • In England more like dropped scones or Scottish Pancakes.
  • This recipe uses milk.
  • Though not tried you could make a version with yoghurt & milk.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 100g fresh spinach
  • 90ml milk
  • 70 – 90g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • *
  • 50g granulated sugar for a sweet version
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • Shred the spinach in a mini-chopper or blender.
  • Mix the eggs with the milk.
  • Mix the baking powder with the flour.
  • Add the spinach to the egg mixture.
  • *
  • Add sugar if using.
  • *
  • Add the flour to the mixture until it is thick enough to drop off a spoon.
  • *
  • Fry tablespoonfuls on both sides on a hot oiled griddle pan.

Good served with sweet or savoury extras

 

Served here on Vintage Pyrex, Royal Doulton – Tapestry and Carnation.

Spinach Pancakes – 1

  • I kept hearing about spinach pancakes and looked for a good recipes.
  • In the end, I adapted my own pancake recipe
  • This version is the thin type – often called a crêpe or in Polish  naleśnik.
  • This is adapted the recipe the perfect pancake 
  • Using  less flour and
  • Less liquid.
  • *
  • Butter and oil for frying

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 100g fresh spinach
  • 200ml milk
  • 100ml water
  • 150g plain flour

Method

  • Shred the spinach in a mini-chopper or blender.
  • Mix the eggs with the milk and water.
  • Add the flour until well blended.
  • Add the spinach.
  • *
  • If you leave this batter for a while, you will have to mix up the spinach.
  • *
  • Get a pancake pan hot with a little oil and butter.
  • Use a standard ladle amount of batter to pour the mixture into the pan.
  • Tilt the pan so that the mixture covers the surface completely and evenly.
  • Cook the pancakes on one side and turn then over.
  • You can make them up one by one or stack then up with a piece of greaseproof paper in between them.
  • You can do this and leave then for later use.
  • Pancakes with sweet fillings are normally folded into triangles – fan -shaped  by folding the pancake into half and half again.
  • Pancakes with savoury fillings are normally rolled up.
  • *
  • Pancakes rolled up without a filling can be cut and used as noodles or added to soups.

 

Vegetable Pancakes

  • These pancakes are the thick American style pancakes.
  • You can use most cooked vegetables cut into small pieces.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 200ml yoghurt
  • 150 – 200ml milk
  • 200g of cooked chopped vegetables
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying.

Vegetables – used 

  • Carrots
  • Whole green beans
  • Peas
  • Sweetcorn

Other suggestions 

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Chives (fresh)
  • Onions (fried in butter)
  • Peppers
  • Potatoes (boiled)

    Method

  • Beat the eggs, yoghurt and 150ml of milk together.
  • Mix the salt into the flour.
  • Add flour to the egg mix.
  • You are aiming for a thick batter – add more milk as required.
  • Chop all the vegetables into small pieces.
  • Make sure all the vegetables are dry.
  • Dry with a tea towel or kitchen roll as needed.
  • Mix the vegetables together.
  • Mix the vegetables into the batter.
  • *
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan.
  • Fry tablespoonfuls of  the mixture on both sides.

Serve with chopped chives or the green parts of spring onion.

Served here with tomato sauce.

Vintage Pyrex plates

Yeast Pancakes

  • These would be called placuszki drożdżowe in Polish.
  • They are small American style pancakes.
  • They are similar to dropped scones in the north of England.
  • They are similar to bliny but made with wheat flour.
  • They are a variation on my bliny recipe and you could use half wheat and half buckwheat flour  (I intend to try this soon).

Ingredients

  • 170g plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 250ml of lukewarm milk.
  • 3½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 50g of melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • *
  • Little bit of sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • In a bowl mix the yeast, 1 tablespoon of  sugar and 125ml of milk.
  • Leave for around 10 minutes to froth up.
  • In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and 2½ tablespoons of sugar.
  • Mix in the eggs, 125ml of milk and the butter.
  • Add the yeast mixture and mix well.
  • Cover the bowl (a shower cap is good) and leave to rise.
  • This will depend on the room temperature – mine took 90 minutes.
  • Use a cast iron gridle pan or similar.
  • Heat the pan up and add a little sunflower oil.
  • Place large tablespoons of batter on the pan.
  • Adjust the temperature to a medium heat so not to burn them.
  • Cook on both sides.
  • Keep in a warm oven whilst making more.
  • Serve sweet or savoury

Served here with caster sugar on La prune by Jet for Ter Steege of the Netherlands.

Mama’s Pouring Potato Pancakes

  • My mother once said that she had made some potato pancakes from boiled potatoes with the batter being of a pouring consistency.
  • She said the mixture was a similar to  krokiety kartoflane – potato croquettes.
  • Now I never actually tried these nor attempted to make them before.
  • This recipe is the result of a several tests with different quantities.

Ingredients

  • 200g cold boiled starchy potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons of plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 200ml of milk
  • *
  • Sunflower oil and butter for frying

Method

  • Mash the potatoes so they are lump free.
  • Add the flour and salt.
  • Add the eggs and mix well.
  • Slowly add the milk , you might not need it all.
  • Mix until the batter is like double cream.
  • A Danish whisk is good for this.
  • Melt a small amount of butter and add a little oil to your pancake pan.
  • Use a ladle to measure out the batter and tip the pan to spread.
  • Turn and cook on both sides.

Served here with maple syrup – but will be good with savoury options too.

Sweetcorn Fritters

  • I have been making these for years but cannot remember where I got the recipe from.
  • Originally I used one small carton of natural yoghurt.
  • I now buy large pots of yoghurt and I use my 125ml measure instead.
  • I always use tinned sweetcorn but you can use frozen sweetcorn, cooked and cooled.
  • There are lots of ways to eat these – I often have then with grilled bacon and fried eggs.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 125ml of yoghurt
  • 125ml of milk – some extra might be needed.
  • 1 tin of sweetcorn (340g) – drained
  • ½ teaspoon of turmeric – optional
  • Sunflower oil to fry

Method

  • Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.
  • Make a well in the centre.
  • Add the eggs, yoghurt and milk.
  • Mix together – a Danish whisk is good for this.

  • Aim for a thick batter – add a little more milk if necessary
  • Add the sweetcorn and mix again.
  • Heat a little oil in a frying pan.
  • Drop large tablespoonfuls of the batter into the pan.
  • Cook on both sides.
  • Keep warm on a plate in the oven whilst making the rest.

Variations

Add some chopped spring onions or chives to the batter or chilli flakes or chopped chilies.

Spring Onion Pancakes

  • I came across a recipe for adding spring onions to waffle mixtures.
  • I will have a go at this later but thought I would try out the idea with pancakes.

Ingredients

  • Pancake batter using 2 eggs
  • The green part of 7-8 spring onions or lots of chives.

Method

  • Mix up your pancake batter and leave to rest.
  • I made a 2 egg version using my perfect pancake recipe.
  • Leave to rest.
  • Use the green part of the spring onions and chop them finely.
  • Stir the chopped spring onions into the batter when you are starting to make them.
  • Make the pancakes as you usually do – you might want to make them slightly thicker.
  • Keep them warm in the oven separated with greaseproof if you want them all at the same time.
  • Fan fold the pancakes.
  • Pour maple syrup over them to serve.
  • *
  • Also delicious with grilled smoked bacon.

 

Apple Pancakes

  • At the moment there are lots of Bramley apples from the garden.
  • I often make pancakes – French style crepes and fill them with cooked apples.
  • I also make a slightly thicker type with chopped apples, a recipe from my mum’s sister, sort of apple fritters – racuszki -….. I posted this over 4 years ago.
  • I came across this recipe for – placki, which are more like an American pancake.
  • I think they would have been made originally with soured milk.
  • I have been told you can use kefir instead of yoghurt.
  • I weighed out the flour for this recipe but am sure if you make these often you will be able to judge the amount without getting out the scales.

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 cooking apples
  • 130g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 125ml of yoghurt
  • 2 eggs
  • Water (up to 60ml)
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • Peel the apples and grate them with a coarse grater.
  • Mix in the flour, salt and yoghurt.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Add enough water to make a very thick batter.
  • Fry tablespoons on a hot griddle or frying pan – you may need a little sunflower oil.
  • *
  • Best eaten hot – but you can keep them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all together.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.
  • *
  • Also delicious with some hot apple sauce with some ground cinnamon mixed in.

 

Served on La Prune plates by Jet for Ter Steege of the Netherlands.

Pancakes with Sour Cherries

Sour cherries & sweet cherries  are related but in Polish they have completely different names.

  • Prunus cerasus  are wiśnie  –  sour cherries also known as morello cherries
  • Prunus avium are czereśnie –  sweet cherries.
  • *
  • Prunus cerasus originated in the Iranian plateau & Eastern Europe.
  • They feature greatly in Polish cooking.

United Nations Annual crop production figures for sour cherries in 2014:

  1. Russia 198,000 tonnes
  2. Ukraine 182,880 tonnes
  3. Turkey 182,577 tonnes
  4. Poland 176,545  tonnes
  5. USA 137,983 tonnes
  • For this recipe fresh sour cherries would have to be cooked with some sugar but  here in England I have never seen fresh sour cherries for sale so I use bottled ones.
  • Some brands still have the stones in them so you will have to stone them first.

Ingredients – Sour Cherry Sauce

  • Jar of part jar of sour cherries
  • 4 cloves
  • Small stick of cinnamon
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons of potato or cornflour

Method

  • Put the cherries and the juice into a saucepan.
  • Add the cloves and cinnamon.
  • Simmer gently for around 10 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Remove the spices.
  • Mix the potato or cornflour with a little of the juice.
  • Stir this into the cherries.
  • Bring up to the boil, stirring often.
  • The sauce should thicken.
  • Leave on a low heat.

 

Plate is La Prune by Jet for Ter Steege in The Netherlands.

I have written lots of tips for The Perfect Pancake – below is a reminder of the basic recipe.

Ingredients – Pancakes

  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 200 ml milk (full or semi-skimmed)
  • 200 ml water
  • pinch of salt

This amount makes around 8 pancakes – in my 20cm pancake pan.

  • I remember this recipe as it is all the 2’s for ease
  • Depending on the flour and the size of the eggs,
  • You might not use all the milk & water mixture
  • or sometimes you might just need a little more.

Method – Pancake

  • Beat the eggs and add then them first to the sifted flour.
  • Add the milk mixture to the egg and flour mix until you have a batter the consistency of pouring cream.
  • Leave the batter to stand for at least 1 hour in which time it will thicken, then add a little more liquid.
  • Use a special thin pan which you use just for pancakes, mine has a base diameter of 20 cm and is made of steel, once seasoned, just wipe it clean between uses with kitchen roll – never scour it or use detergent.
  • Work out how much batter you need for a pancake and find a measure which will then give you a consistent amount – I use a small ladle which holds 45ml.
  • Have a dish of melted butter or margarine and sunflower oil for frying so you can add just enough and tip some back if needed.
  • Using the ladle pour the mixture into the pan.
  • Tilt the pan so that the mixture covers the surface completely and evenly.
  • Cook the pancakes on one side and turn them over.
  • You can make them up one by one –
  • or stack then up with a piece of greaseproof paper in between them.
  • You can do this and leave then for later use.
  • *
  • Spread some of the cherries and sauce onto a pancake.
  • Pancakes with sweet fillings are normally folded into triangles – fan -shaped  by folding the pancake into half and half again.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.
  • *
  • You can make the filled pancakes in advance prior to dusting them with icing sugar and then heat them up on both sides – using the pancake pan again – maybe with the addition of a little butter.
  • Then dust them with icing sugar.

Buckwheat Pancakes – New Ideas 2

I have recently returned from a super, short holiday in Gdańsk and in one restaurant I saw on the menu pierogi (Polish filled pasta) which had leeks, peas and soured cream as a filling –  I liked the idea of the sweetness of garden peas with leeks and thought  I could adapt this and use it as a filling with buckwheat pancakes.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 75g buckwheat flour
  • 25g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 125ml of milk (full or semi-skimmed)
  • 125ml of water
  • 25g of  melted butter
  • pinch of salt
  • Some extra milk might be needed.

Method

  • Beat the eggs and add then them first to the sifted flour.
  • Add the milk mixture to the egg and flour mix until you have a batter the consistency of pouring cream.
  • Mix the milk with the water
  • Add the milk mixture to the egg and flour mix until you have a batter the consistency of pouring cream.
  • Leave the batter to stand for at least 1 hour in which time it will thicken, then add a little more liquid.
  • Use a special thin pan which you use just for pancakes, mine has a base diameter of 20 cm and is made of steel, once seasoned, just wipe it clean between uses with kitchen roll – never scour it or use detergent.
  • Work out how much batter you need for a pancake and find a measure which will then give you a consistent amount – I use a small ladle which holds 45ml.
  • Have a dish of melted butter or margarine and sunflower oil for frying so you can add just enough and tip some back if needed.
  • Heat the pan – you want a high heat but not too much to burn the pancakes – you will find you have to keep adjusting the heat. (As I cook using gas this is easy to do).

IMG_20150705_172532980

 

  • Using the ladle pour the mixture into the pan.
  • Tilt the pan so that the mixture covers the surface completely and evenly.
  • Cook the pancakes on one side and turn then over – you can make them up one by one or stack then up with a piece of greaseproof paper in between them. You can do this and leave then for later use.

Filling

  • 3 leeks – chopped
  • 100g frozen peas
  • 2-3 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 -3 tablespoons of soured cream

  • Using a deep large frying pan with a lid (a glass one is best), melt the butter and gently cook the leeks to soften them but not brown.
  • Add the frozen peas and cover with the lid and cook for a few minutes.
  • Stir the mixture and add the soured cream.
  • Place some of the mixture on a cooked pancake  in the centre and out to the sides – but not quite to the edge.
  • Fold in two of the opposite sides and then roll up the pancake from the long end to make a long parcel.

Other Ways to use the Filling

The leek & pea mixture goes really well as a vegetable to serve with roast chicken.

Or heat some cooked chicken breast pieces with the leeks & peas.

I think some pasta would also be good with this, though have not yet tried this yet.