SAVOURY PANCAKES

Method

Everyone enjoyed a savoury pancake for dinner? Many may remember the ‘Findus Savoury Pancakes’ that are still available in the shops to buy. But ever thought of making them?

When I was a kid my mother occasionally worked for the consumer research centre that was situated in Putney, London. The research centre tested mainly new food items on behalf of manufacturers. On one occasion mum just tested items at the centre, on others, she brought a meal home to cook for all the family. The savoury pancake was one of these items and it was a big hit with all of us.

I was also fortunate enough to enrol into the kid’s section and got to taste items designed for children, mainly sweet items, crisps etc all the things now some look at as not good for you. How time has changed.

The savoury pancake is time consuming to make. However, the version I make is much bigger than the Findus version so contains a much larger amount of filling which you will enjoy.

Everyone has their own favourite fillings and I have tried a few from, beef mince, onion and pea; Chicken and mushroom in white sauce, chicken and sweetcorn in white sauce and my current favourite, smoked bacon in cheese sauce.

 

Pancakes

Sift the flour into a bowl adding one beaten egg, seasoning and a quarter of the milk. Mix well until the batter is smooth.

Add the remaining milk in a few separate parts and mix in at each stage.
Cover the batter and allow to rest in a fridge for at least half an hour. If time permits leave longer. This allows for all the flour to be fully absorbed into the egg and milk mixture.

Cooking the pancakes

For this recipe, I use an 8” diameter frying pan. The base is 6” so it will create a 6” / 155mm diameter pancake.

Heat the pan until hot, add a knob of butter and then a generous amount of pancake batter to cover the base 2-3mm thick. We are not making a crepe Suzette where the pancake mixture is thinner and the mixture is thinner nor are we making American style pancakes that you make and serve with syrup which is thicker. We are making a pancake thick enough to hold a filling.

Turn or toss the pancake over, if you see thin indented areas on the pancake add some more batter to these areas using a spoon. Turn once more to cook additional batter added and then place the pancake on a plate.

Create six pancakes cover and allow to cool. Once they are down to normal room temperature you can place these in the fridge.

Keep the remaining pancake batter as this will be used as a glue to seal the pancakes once the filling has been added.

Filling

The filling choice is up to you however you want the filling to be moist but not over wet.

Mince, Onion and Pea

In a frying pan or large pan add a small amount of cooking oil, 250g minced beef and fry. Add a crushed stock cube such as OXO, 1 /2 medium sliced onion and cook down until the onion softens. Add a teaspoon of plain flour and mix in to absorb any extra oil. Now add half a cup of frozen peas and ½ - 1 cup of water. Continue cook until the mixture thickens then place into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature before placing this mixture into a fridge to chill before use. This will take approximately an hour in total.

Chicken with Mushrooms or Sweetcorn.

Fry and large breast of chicken and then cut into small chunks.
To make the sauce, melt 20g butter in a pan add 20-25g plain flour, a teaspoon of mustard powder and mix well. Add 250ml of milk in a few parts mixing well as you add it to avoid lumps, season with salt and pepper now add the chicken, 60 g sliced mushrooms or 30g of sweet corn. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens. Place into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in a fridge before use.

Smoked Bacon and cheese.

On a medium heat fry 150g of smoked bacon lardons. Remove from the pan onto a kitchen towel and dust with a 1-2 teaspoon of plain flour. This will absorb any excess oil and will help thicken the sauce when added to the sauce mixture.

You can make your own cheese sauce from scratch by using 25g melted butter 20g plain flour and add 100g g of cheese or use a packet cheese sauce mix. If you use a packet sauce mix you need to make it thicker than intended by either reducing the milk content or adding additional flour.

A 40g packet of cheese sauce mix, use 250ml milk not 300 as the packet suggests.

Whichever you use, add a small amount of cold milk to the sauce mix/flour first and mix well to avoid lumps. Add the rest of the milk and heat and stir continuously for about 2 min. Halfway through add the fried bacon lardon.  Continue to cook until the mixture thickens. Place into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature and then chill in a fridge before use.

Filling the pancakes

Make sure both the pancakes and the filling are cold. Divide your pancake filling into six equal portions and place one portion in the centre of a pancake. Use a pastry brush to apply the extra pancake batter around the edge of the pancake. Fold one side of the pancake to the other and seal firmly using your finger and thumb and place aside. Repeat the process for all six pancakes.

Dust both sides of each of the filled pancakes with flour.

Adding the breadcrumbs.

This is the messy bit so best prepare your work area.

Place two beaten eggs on a large plate or bowl and on another plate add your breadcrumbs. Dip your flour coated filled pancake into the egg making sure both sides are covered well and then into the breadcrumbs. Cover the pancake fully in bread crumbs and then place aside on some parchment or greaseproof paper. Repeat the process for all the pancakes.

I suggest you have a bowl of water to clean your hands after each one otherwise you will find this a messy job. If you try to use utensils to do this part such as cooking tongs then you are liable to break the pancakes, so get messy and use your hands.

Once you have completed all six they are ready to fry or if you wish you can freeze them at this stage for use at a later date. Fully defrost before cooking.

Cooking