Nomad pancakes

Yummy with jam and cream!

I’m not much of a person for cake, in fact if the truth be told I hate it. Same goes for chocolate – I’ve just no sweet tooth. That being said, one of the favourites in our house is pancakes and I don’t mind those, as they aren’t ‘real’ cakes. Here in the UK pancakes and which type of pancake you prefer/like/make and what you call it can spark up a huge debate. And, if you're in the right company you can end up in a bit of a rammy about when a pancake is or isn't a pancake and becomes something ludicrious like a 'dropped scone or a crepe'. These debates can rampage on for hours - no one being right! (bit like the whats a neep (turnip or swede?) and whats a turnip (white or yellow) depending upon where you come from - regional debates about food are hilarious!!)

Therefore, I’m simply talking about my pancakes – rather than your ones! In real life, I’m a bit Scottish, a bit Irish and a bit of a nomad (ex forces) so I’m not really an anything and neither are my pancakes. So I’m going to keep it simple and just call them ‘my nomad pancakes’. Whilst they do keep, they are best eaten around the kitchen table, whilst hot!

My Nomad Pancakes (1/2 Scottish, ¼ Irish, ¼ Nomad)

SR flour (about 1 1/2 cup )

Milk (about 1 1/2 cup)

Egg (one will do)

Sugar (to taste – about 1-2 tbsp)

Bi-carb or baking powder (1/4 tsp – no more than half or it will be a bit weird)

Pinch of salt (don’t forget this or it won’t taste right)

Mix batter together and whip hard - quite a thick mix, should look bubbly. Best cooked on a moderately hot griddle which is rubbed over with a tiny skim of butter/oil, or a heavy based frying pan or if you’re lucky like me on a crepe pan specially designed for the job of making pancakes! Drop a half ladel ful of batter onto the pan - turn once the bubbles start forming - when the underside is golden brown. Only a few minutes on the other side then ready to scoff.

Time to turn a pancake over...............

You eat them with jam or butter or cream or both or syrup or cheese or anything you fancy – pancakes with no limits. You get the idea, I learnt to make these on the Island of Colonsay. I lived there for many years on a farm, with the children, where I turned my hand at baking and had a wee café for a while with a chum, which we called ‘The Barn’. I can’t call them a family recipe because having lived all over Scotland, often far away from my own family I’ve not much in the way of a ‘heritage’ to pass on. So we make up the heritage we fancy as we go along – the kids can make these themselves so they can pass them on too!

They can be dressed up and made with fruit dropped into them – ala banana, cherry, sultana, etc sweet pancake

Or they can be made savoury (don’t put in the sugar) and you can add vegetables to them such as sweetcorn, mushrooms, etc or meat (cooked chicken or fish are nice) and cook them in the same way or drop them into hot oil to make ‘fritters’.

Enjoy - what recipe would your kids to know off by heart and remind them of home?