Friday Food Fest: Pancake Perfection

This weekend is predicted to be a cold and rainy one. Ever since I was a little girl, a rainy day meant pancakes. My mother always softened the blow of the cold harsh winters days or evenings with the sweet aroma of cinnamon and the sound of pancake flipping. My mouth waters at the thought of this winter comfort food. There is just nothing better than having pipping hot coffee with two rolled up pancakes and some lemon or a drizzle of golden syrup. Hmmmmm

So I thought a little childhood tradition should be carried on and while I am not yet a mother to continue this tradition, why not make it a savoury treat for my friends. I merged two recipes this week, something savoury and something sweet with a twist! The cookbooks that I pulled these mouth-watering options from are One, Two, Three on the Table by Bernice van der Merwe (savoury) and Cape Winelands Cuisine by Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche (sweet).
Enjoy!

Pancakes with three cheeses

Pancake batter will keep for a few days in the fridge, and you can even freeze it.

Cheese filling: Combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, Emmental cheese and cream.

Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Set aside.

Pancakes: Makes ± 10

Filling: Enough for ± 5 portions

Cheese filling

200 g spinach, shredded

280 g ricotta cheese, crumbled

100 g Emmental cheese, grated

125 ml fresh cream

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ml ground nutmeg

Pancakes

250 ml cake fl our

5 ml baking powder

1 ml salt

250 ml water, plus another 60 ml (if batter is too thick)

1 egg, beaten

30 ml cooking oil

extra cooking oil for shallow-frying

100 g mozzarella cheese, grated

Pancakes:
Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, water, egg and 30 ml cooking oil. Beat well and leave the batter to stand for a few minutes.

Heat the cooking oil for shallow-frying in a pan and pour in a large spoonful of batter.

Don’t be too much in a rush with turning the pancake; wait until the batter has totally set and the pancake starts to come away from the pan before turning it. Flip it carefully with a large egg lifter and cook until done and golden brown on both sides.
Repeat until you have enough pancakes.

Place a piece of wax paper between each pancake if you first want to make all the pancakes.

Spoon some of the fi lling lengthwise in the middle of each pancake, and roll up the pancake.

Place the fi lled pancakes next to each other in an oven pan or dish and sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Serve with a rocket salad, if preferred.

Tips

• Remember that the first  pancake is usually a flop, so don’t feel too bad about it.

• The pancakes can also be served as dessert with cinnamon sugar or try the sauce below!

For dessert

Van der Hum sauce

1 cup (250 ml) water

1 cup (250 ml) sugar

zest of 1 naartjie or orange

2 whole cloves

2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter

1/2 cup (125 ml) Van der Hum liqueur

1 tsp (5 ml) sherry

2 tsp (10 ml) cream

Pour the water into a saucepan over high heat. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the zest and cloves and reduce to two-thirds. Beat in the butter. Add the Van der Hum liqueur, sherry and cream and pour the hot sauce over the pancakes just before serving.