Pancakes and other breakfast ideas
PANCAKES
185g flour
2 eggs
1 yolk
1 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
full fat milk
scant half tsp baking powder
butter or oil for frying
lots of crispy bacon
maple syrup
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, whisking in enough milk to give the consistency of double cream. Lightly oil or butter a frying pan and test a small spoonful of the batter. You may need to thin it down further. Cook the pancakes over a moderate rather than a high heat and transfer them to the oven as you go. They will keep for half an hour or so quite happily. The secret to pancakes is the consistency of the batter and the amount you put in the pan. Ideally, you should be working hard to get the pan covered with the batter before it starts to set
POACHED EGGS AND WILTED SPINACH
4 eggs
tbsp butter
600g spinach
juice of one lemon
4 slices toast
Melt the butter in a frying pan and wilt the spinach, along with the lemon juice and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Have a shallow pan with about four centimetres of boiling water simmering on the side. As the spinach cooks, drop the eggs into the water and simmer for about three minutes, or until the eggs are cooked. Pile the spinach on top of the toasts, put the eggs on top of the spinach and season with salt and pepper.
ROAST SMOKED HADDOCK WITH SAUTÉED POTATOES AND POACHED EGG
If you can, buy the undyed pink-hued smoked haddock rather than the yellow/orange one, which is only that colour because it has been dyed.
1kg potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes
olive oil
4 fillets of smoked haddock
4 eggs
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Cook potatoes in plenty of salted water until just tender. Drain them, and allow them to dry. Heat four tablespoons of olive oil and when it is hot, sauté the potatoes until brown and crispy. Meanwhile, preheat oven to gas six/200 degrees. Brush the smoked haddock lightly with oil, season with pepper and roast until cooked, about 10 minutes. Poach the eggs until they are soft. Spoon potatoes on to four plates, top with the fish and garnish with a poached egg. Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve.
SMOOTHIES
We may be at the end of the soft fruit season, but judicious use of the freezer means these can still be used. And plums are really coming into their own at the moment. Gently stewed with a little sugar and maybe a cinnamon stick or vanilla pod, they can be combined with yoghurt to make something infinitely better and certainly more preservative-free than the flavoured yoghurts found on supermarket shelves.
MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE
2 cups frozen mixed berries
2 bananas
2 cups apple or orange juice or Greek-style yoghurt
Combine all ingredients and liquidise them. You may need to add a little water, depending on how thick the yoghurt is.