Nigel Slater recipes
The basic crepe Makes about 12. 50g butter, plus more for cooking 100g plain flour 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 350ml milk Melt most of the butter in a small pan and leave it to cool slightly. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt. Scoop a well in the centre of the flour, then drop in the egg and the egg yolk. You can beat them lightly first, but I'm not sure it makes much difference. Pour in the milk, whisking gently as you go, then whisk in the melted butter. Set the batter aside for about half an hour. Melt some butter for frying. Heat an 18-20cm crepe pan and brush it with a little melted butter. Stir the batter - it should be the thickness of double cream - and pour 50-60ml into the pan. Working quickly, tilt the pan so that the batter runs all over the surface, making a neatish round. The base should be covered in batter, but not quite thin enough to see through. Let the crepe cook for a minute or so until the underside is golden in patches and comes easily away from the pan. Lift one edge up with a palette knife and flip it gently over. The base should be cooked in 1 minute, maybe less - but it will only cook in patches, not as evenly as the first side. Tip it carefully on to a plate. Brush the pan with a little more melted butter and continue until you have used all the batter. · For sweet pancakes, you can add 1 tbsp of caster sugar to the mixture and 2 tbsp of brandy. This will give a sweet, richer finish and is especially good for those who like their pancakes with cream or ice cream.
This year I'm joining a Lent course with all the churches in the town and they are following the York Course. Im also giving up worrying and swearing! (tough one that!) I cant give up eggs because our hens produce about 3 a day and they would go to waste.
Lent is like the Jewish festival of Passover or the Muslims Ramadan. The Jews would clear their houses of yeast before Passover and the idea is that we should empty ourselves somehow to focus on whats important in life.
