Less than one week to go until Pancake Day! Less than one week to eat up all of the things you enjoy, until you have to give them up until Easter time!
At Smart Restaurants we are deciding what we are going to put with our pancakes this year, will it be the traditional squeezed lemon and sugar or will it be something more unusual and something more filling. Here are a few ideas to put in your head so you will know what to have in a weeks time. One thing you must decide is will you be going for a savoury or a sweet pancake or will you have both?
Savoury Pancakes
If you don’t really have a sweet tooth, but don’t want to miss out on the excitement of Pancake Day then go for a savoury pancake. This way you can still be involved with Pancake Day, but have a savoury filling instead. There are many savoury choices that you can go for. Just think of the pancake as a sandwich and go with a filling that you would put inside your favourite sandwich.
Cheese
Cheese is always a good choice. Its simple but tasty and as there are so many cheese varieties you can choose anything you like from a mild cheddar to a strong blue cheese. Some cheeses also have flavours to them such as garlic and herbs which will make your pancake even tastier.
Ham and Cheese
Ham and cheese is very simple, but very tasty. It is easy to make using slices of ham and cheese. Make sure the cheese goes onto the pancake as soon as it has been cooked so that it melts, or if you want it to be cold then let the pancake cool down before putting your filling into it.
Cheese and Tomato
The filling for your pancake can be either cold or warm. With the cheese and tomato filling you could have either cold slices of cheese and tomato or warm them up before hand by melting the cheese and tomato together in a saucepan.
Mushrooms
So that you don’t have a dry pancake you can warm up a can of creamed mushrooms so that they have a little bit of a sauce to them or slightly cook sliced mushrooms in a saucepan with a bit of butter.
Cheese, Ham and Mushroom
For something very filling, why not pack your pancake out with cheese, ham and mushrooms. All the fillings will be bound together by the melted cheese and will fill you up after a long day at work.
Sweet Pancakes
There is nothing wrong with having a sweet pancake after a savoury one as it just simply acts like your pudding. Or if you have had something completely different for dinner then there will be more mixture to use up for several different sweet pancakes. You can sample a variety so you can see which one you prefer. Depending on how much mixture you use, pancakes can be quite thin and light (if you use the suggested amount of mixture). This means you can probably eat several if you want to.
Lemon and Sugar
In Britain, squeezing lemon onto our pancakes and adding sugar is a popular traditional pancake topping. Usually with this topping you are able to eat more than one as it is rather light and won’t necessarily fill you up.
Nutella
Having Nutella on Pancakes is something that is very popular in France, in many Crêperies. This may be a popular choice to those who do enjoy the nutty chocolate taste of Nutella.
Fruit
Fruit is a healthy option for a pancake. You can pack lots of cut up fruit into a pancake and even have some more on the side. This is your sweet pancake which may include all of your five a day with various fruits. Many will choose smaller sized fruits such as berries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or cut up pieces of apple and banana.
Jam
Like chocolate spread, jam is sweet and simple to add to any pancake. Spread the jam of your choice on and roll the pancake up to eat. You may even add some fruit of your preference if you like to make it that bit more filling.
Ice-cream with Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Sauce
For something more dessert like, ice-cream is a good filling or topping for pancakes, it will melt with the warmth of a freshly cooked pancake. You can then add some fresh fruit and sauce of your choice to make a unique pancake to your taste.
Banana, Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce
If you want a more filling, sweet pancake them go for something like this as it will definitely fill you up with the amount of fruit and the dash of chocolate sauce will make it even sweeter. Those who are not so much a chocolate fan can always add a sprinkling of sugar instead.
Whatever you decide to eat on Pancake Day, make sure it is something that you will enjoy. If pancakes are a once in a while treat in your household or something you only do eat on Pancake Day then its always best to enjoy it. Put dinner aside for this day and enjoy a stack of endless tasty pancakes, savoury or sweet it is entirely up to you!
