Savoury pancakes with three vegetarian fillings

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the batter: sift the plain flour into a mixing bowl, add the eggs and about half the milk, then whisk to a thick paste. Gradually whisk in the remaining milk until the batter is smooth and the consistency of single cream. Stir in the vegetable oil, half the sea salt and half the black pepper.

2. 2

   Cover the bowl and leave the batter to rest at room temperature. This lets the flour hydrate and the gluten relax so the pancakes are tender.

3. 3

   Roast the peppers: set the oven to 220°C fan/240°C conventional. Halve and seed the red peppers, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast skin-side up on a baking tray for 25 minutes until the skins are charred.

4. 4

   Cover the roasted peppers with a bowl or foil and leave to cool for 10 minutes so the skins steam — they’ll peel more easily.

5. 5

   While the peppers roast, caramelise two brown onions: thinly slice them, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, add the onions, caster sugar and balsamic vinegar, then sweat gently over low heat for 20 minutes until deep golden and sticky. Stir occasionally so they don’t catch.

6. 6

   Make the mushroom, spinach & goat's cheese filling: finely chop one brown onion and two garlic cloves. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, soften the onion 4–5 minutes, add the mushrooms and cook for 6–8 minutes until golden. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the fresh spinach and cook until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat; crumble in the goat's cheese and stir through.

7. 7

   Make the lemon ricotta filling: zest the lemon, then mix the ricotta, lemon zest and about 1 tbsp lemon juice, finely chopped fresh chives, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper in a bowl. Taste and adjust.

8. 8

   Finish the roasted pepper filling: peel and chop the cooled peppers, then stir them into the caramelised onions. Taste and fold through most of the grated mature cheddar, reserving a little to finish.

9. 9

   Cook the pancakes: heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and grease lightly with a little olive oil. For thin pancakes pour roughly 80 ml batter into the pan and swirl to coat thinly. Cook first side 1–1½ minutes until the edge looks set and surface is matte, then flip and cook 20–30 seconds. Keep pancakes warm on a plate covered with foil while you cook the rest.

10. 10

    Assemble and warm: spoon one of the fillings onto a pancake (about 2–3 tbsp), fold or roll and if using the cheddar filling, return folded pancakes to the pan for 30 seconds each side to melt the cheese slightly.

11. 11

    Serve immediately with a handful of rocket and lemon wedges for squeezing over the ricotta pancakes.

Tips

• Rest the batter for at least 30 minutes — it really improves texture and helps you pour thinner, more supple pancakes.
• Cook mushrooms in a hot, uncrowded pan so they brown rather than steam; use two batches if necessary.
• Peel roasted peppers after covering them so the skins steam off easily — use a bowl or foil to trap the steam for 10 minutes.
• Make fillings a day ahead: warm through briefly before filling pancakes. Pancakes can be stacked between sheets of kitchen paper and refrigerated for 24 hours.
• Leftovers keep well: cool completely, wrap in foil and refrigerate up to 48 hours; reheat gently in a low oven (150°C fan/170°C conventional) to avoid soggy pancakes.

Substitutions

• soft goat's cheese → crumbled feta, same quantity

  Stays close

• ricotta → strained Greek yoghurt, same quantity (drain overnight on kitchen paper if you want thicker texture)

  Noticeably different

• plain flour → gluten-free plain flour blend, same weight

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

920

Calories

30 g

Protein

55 g

Carbs

65 g

Fat

4 g

Fibre

9 g

Sugar

700 mg

Sodium

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