Pancake Tuesday / March 4th 2014

Perfect Pancakes

Can be enjoyed on Pancake Tuesday (also know as Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras) on at any time of the year. A foolproof batter recipe and plenty of tips on how to make pancakes with flair, whether sweet or savory.

NOTE: This recipe is for the thin, almost crepe-like pancakes and not those thick heavy pancakes you get in the US (sorry US, no offence intended).

Ingredients:

• 100g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable, plus extra for frying
• pinch salt
• variety of fillings of your choice
• Lemon Juice & Sugar
• Bananas and strawberry jam (jelly if you're in the US)
• Nutella

Directions:

1. Blending in the flour: Put the flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the middle, then pour in about 50ml milk and 1 tbsp oil. Start whisking from the centre, gradually drawing the flour into the eggs, milk and oil. Once all the flour is incorporated, beat until you have a smooth, thick paste. Add a little more milk if it is too stiff to beat.
2. Finishing the batter: Add a good splash of milk and whisk to loosen the thick batter. While still whisking, pour in a steady stream of the remaining milk. Continue pouring and whisking until you have a batter that is the consistency of slightly thick single cream. Traditionally, people would say to now leave the batter for 30 mins, to allow the starch in the flour to swell, but there’s no need.
3. Getting the right thickness: Heat the pan over a moderate heat, then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper. Ladle some batter into the pan, tilting the pan to move the mixture around for a thin and even layer. Quickly pour any excess batter into a jug, return the pan to the heat, then leave to cook, undisturbed, for about 30 secs. Pour the excess batter from the jug back into the mixing bowl. If the pan is the right temperature, the pancake should turn golden underneath after about 30 secs and will be ready to turn.
4. Flipping pancakes: Hold the pan handle, ease a fish slice under the pancake, then quickly lift and flip it over. Make sure the pancake is lying flat against base of the pan with no folds, then cook for another 30 secs before turning out onto a warm plate. Continue with the rest of the batter, serving them as you cook or stack onto a plate. You can freeze the pancakes for 1 month, wrapped in cling film or make them up to a day ahead.
5. Eating: Serve warm, rolled with a filling of your choice. Enjoy!

Colcannon / Better than Cabbage!

A real treat for St. Patrick's day and far nicer than regular cabbage (which can be lovely when done correctly).

Use REAL BUTTER in this recipe. You need three pots on the go to bring this all together at the same time - one with the cabbage, on with the spuds and one with the leeks.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cabbage
• 1 pound potatoes
• 2 leeks
• 1 cup milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch ground mace
• 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, boil cabbage until tender; remove and chop finely. Set aside and keep warm. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
2. Chop leeks, green parts as well as white, and simmer them in just enough milk to cover, until they are soft.
3. Season and mash potatoes well. Stir in cooked leeks and milk. Blend in the kale or cabbage and heat until the whole is a pale green fluff. Make a well in the center and pour in the REAL melted butter. Mix well.

Guinness Beer Batter

A delicious dark beer batter, perfect for fish!

Ok, you don't have to use Guinness™ but as this an Irish blog.... well I have to say tryGuiness but other beers work just as well!


Ingredients:

• One cup of flour
• One cup of Guinness [feel free to substitute your favourite beer]
• Garlic powder, pepper to taste
  

Directions:
Add your favourite spice to the flour, mix well and add the beer.  Mix until well blended with no lumps.

Use as a batter for fish, making sure the fish is completely dry before dipping into the Guinness batter.

Irish Pancakes

Pancake Tuesday / Irish Style

The before lent starts and you have to use up all those eggs... hence having an egg for easter!  Pancakes are great fun to make for all the family and there's no end of expertimenting you can do once you have the basic batter ready to go.

Traditional Irish Pancakes tend to be less think than US sytle pancakes but not quite as thin as French Crepes.   They are rolled rather than stacked!



Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 oz unsalted butter
• Additional butter for frying
• granulated sugar
• lemon juice

Directions:

1. Beat the milk and eggs together in a bowl. In another bowl, sift the flour and salt together; add half the milk and egg mixture, stirring constantly.
2. Melt the butter and whisk it in. Whisk in the rest of the remaining milk and egg mixture.
3. Allow the batter to stand at least two hours.
4. Melt 1 tbs butter in frying pan, add 1/4 cup batter and tip until the pan is evenly coated. Keep the pan moving as you cook to prevent sticking. When the underside is golden brown, flip the pancake and cook the other side.

Slide onto an oven proof platter; sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice and then, roll up.

Keep warm in a 300 degree oven until ready to serve.


The Sugar and Lemon Juice is a tried and tested option but feel fee to experiment with:-

• Syrups
• Golden syrup
• Maple syrup
• Honey
  
• Fruit
• Bananna
• Strawberry
• Fruit Jam/Preserve
  
•  Chocolate
• Nutella
• Flake
• Toffee / Caramel sauce
• Ice Cream

or try something more savoury like Cheese and crispy bacon!

After all that, why not have a Pancake Race....

One minute Meringue Cake

Eton Mess stacks

From the hallowed halls of Eton (a prestigious private school in England) comes Eton Mess - a scrumy dessert but this one is ready in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
For the Meringue

• 1 Egg white
• 12oz Icing Sugar
• 1 tsp crushed cardamon seeds

For the toppings

• 142ml Double cream
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 10oz Raspberries

Directions:
Whisk the egg white and add the sugar and seeds. You should have a firm icing. Roll the icing into 8 golf ball size balls. Place two balls on a piece of greased baking paper at opposite ends of your microwave. Cook on full power for 30-40 seconds until quadrupled in size. Lift off the paper and allow to cool.

Whip the cream with the lemon juice. Crush half the raspberries and fold through the whipped cream.

To serve, place a little cream in the centre of the plate and settle one meringue on top (the cream on the plate stops the stack from sliding around too much). Add more raspberry cream on top and then another meringue. Finish with more cream and some whole raspberries. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Note: Traditional Eton Mess has the above just all bunged together in a "mess".

Barmbrack

See the recipe for Tea Brack or Brack, this bit is just for fun!

Barmbrack is the center of an Irish Halloween custom. The Halloween Brack traditionally contained various objects baked into the bread and was used as a sort of fortune-telling game. In the barmbrack were: a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin (originally a silver sixpence) and a ring. Each item, when received in the slice, was supposed to carry a meaning to the person concerned: the pea, the person would not marry that year; the stick, "to beat one's wife with", would have an unhappy marriage or continually be in disputes; the cloth or rag, would have bad luck or be poor; the coin, would enjoy good fortune or be rich; and the ring, would be wed within the year. Commercially produced barmbracks for the Halloween market still include a toy ring.

The Sign of the Cross

Irish Soda Bread, both White and Brown is traditionally made by hand in a round shape. A deep cross is cut through the bread, before cooking, to let the fairies out!