Pancakes - Perfect for Winter
          | Perfect as a Starter Pancakes are ideal to be served as starters. They can be rustic or formal - dressed up or down to suit almost any occasion. Their neutral taste and light texture allows them to combine extremely well with almost any filling of your choice, and can be served either hot or cold.The variety of fillings are limited only by what you have available, what your budget will allow or your creativity and imagination. The success of a starter relies on the following - it must capture the mood of the meal, it must whet the appetite and compliment the main dish, and it must be visually beautifully presented. Garnishing the starter to visual perfection wins half the battle. Smaller and slightly thinner pancakes are ideal to use as a starter. They can also be trimmed to a rectangular shape to use them in the same way you would make a roulade. Cut diagonally they can be plated as one horizontally and one vertically to make for very appealing presentation. Garnish them with watercress, dill or parsley, even a light sprinkling of chopped chives or gremolata, they will all ensure perfect presentation. Fillings can vary to suit the meal to follow or to what you have available. For elegant starters you can use anything from smoked salmon and cream cheese, smoked snoek pate to thinly sliced roasted vegetables in an Asian sauce. Chicken, bacon, spinach , mushroom and feta cheese are all ingredients that work well as hot fillings. Make sure the fillings are reasonably well spiced to counter the bland taste of the pancake. Hot starters can be any of the above or anything else you can come up with. Covered in a rich and creamy bechamel sauce, combined with a flavoursome tomato reduction to cut through the richness will guarantee success at the dinner table. Perfect as a Main Course Filled pancakes as a main course are more suited to informal dinners. Here the fillings must be quite substantial an very tasty. Used in much the same way as you would with canneloni. Cover them with a bechamel sauce, top with grated cheese and grill in the oven. Served with a tomato reduction they are utterly delicious. Fillings can be a bolognaise style mince, chicken and mushroom, bacon, spinach, feta and even leftovers of your choice. Used well they can really stretch the budget, and simply served with a green salad they are really delicious. Perfect as a Dessert As a sweet treat pancakes are well known and much loved. Every fundraiser, school or church bazaar has them. As dessert on the menu they have been transformed and raised to worthy dishes. The French call them crepes - with the iconic Crepe Suzette being internationally accepted in every fine dining restaurant. Served with a variety of fillings - fresh fruit, caramel or lemon curd - and served with ice-cream or cream, they are absolutely delicious. With winter upon us it is time to get the batter made. Bake them and treat your family to something to warm them despite the cold weather. Served with a good sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and a cup of freshly brewed coffee winter cannot be any better - enjoy! |