Judgement Dave blog

I freaking love Shrove Tuesday; it’s the religious festival that asks so little but gives so much in return. You don’t need to trawl round the shops for presents, it isn’t over commercialised and the financial outlay is minimal. You just throw together some basic ingredients and spend your evening eating a succession of fried snacks.

It makes me wonder why I confine pancake consumption to just one day of the year. Of course if I was observing Shrove Tuesday properly, I would be fasting for forty days afterwards, to commemorate Jesus’ time in the wilderness.

Then, the pancakes would provide a convenient way of using up all the milk, eggs and butter in the house. Many people give up cigarettes, fatty foods or alcohol for Lent these days, but I reckon Jesus wouldn’t want me to go without - he would just want me to eat some pancakes.

Lent of course is celebrated all over the world, but I can’t help feeling that other countries commemorate it in a more enjoyable fashion. In Brazil they have the Rio Carnival and in New Orleans they have the equally raucous Mardi Gras. In Britain we fry up some batter and eat it in front of Corrie. We’re so crazy.

Shrove Tuesday in England used to be a completely different kettle of fish. In the old days it was called Mischief Night, and it was customary to don a disguise, break into a stranger’s house and demand a pancake. Another excellent tradition was to throw crockery at people and hope pancakes would be thrown back.

The fun police soon quashed that sort of behavior though - try any of that these days and you’ll probably get an ASBO rather than a tasty snack. Damned nanny state.

This pancake recipe is nothing fancy, it just provides the perfect vehicle to carry your favorite toppings. If you’re stuck for ideas, how about lemon and sugar, chocolate spread, golden syrup, fruit or even savoury fillings like cheese and ham. Not all in the same pancake though, Jesus wouldn’t like that.

Dave's Pancakes
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Serves: 12
Prep: 10 min, plus 30 mins standing time
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients
110g plain flour
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs
280ml Milk
2 tbsp melted Butter
sunflower oil, for frying

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

2. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg. Gradually whisk in the milk to form a smooth batter. Cover the batter and leave to stand for 30 minutes. This will allow the starch to swell and give a lighter result.

3. Heat a small non-stick frying pan until very hot. Stir the melted butter into the pancake mix.

4. Pour a little oil into the pan and wipe out the excess with kitchen paper. Pour enough batter into the pan to coat the base.

5. Cook for about 30 seconds.

6. Loosen the edges, turn the pancake over (or toss them!) and cook for 1 minute on the other side, until golden. Repeat to use all the remaining mixture. The mixture should make 12 pancakes.