PANCAKES

Pancakes are so easy to make and Jamie Oliver's way of measuring the ingredients make it even easier.  Most of us usually have eggs and milk in the fridge so you just need to make sure that you always have a bag of plain flour in the cupboard and you can knock some up in just a few minutes.  You can have them at any time of day with any number of fillings…

Have them with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dusting of sugar, a spoon of nutella, drizzle with syrup or fill them with fruit and top with yoghurt.  Fill them cheese and ham and serve with a side salad and you've got a lunchtime dish or light supper.  Fill them with bolognese meat sauce, top with grated cheese and you've a quick cannelloni.

If you don't use all of the mixture just store it in the fridge, it will last for a good few days before the milk turns sour.  A great way to store it is in an old squeezy ketchup bottle or something similar, makes it easy to dispense into the pan.

The one thing I will say is go out and invest in a proper crêpe pan, non stick and about the size of a dessert plate.  I have had mine for 30 years and it will probably last another 30.  It really is worth buying one as the shallow sides make it so much easier to flip the pancake. Also it is a dedicated pan that you only ever use it for pancakes and you don't wash it, you just wipe it out with some kitchen roll so it becomes well seasoned over time.

INGREDIENTS
1 mug of Plain Flour
1 mug of Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt

Note: A mug is an English term for a large cup used for hot drinks.  I'm not sure what it is called in other countries but this wikipedia entry might help you!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mug

This recipe makes thin pancakes, or crêpes.

METHOD
Put all the ingredients into a jug and mix with a small hand whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and there are no lumps.

Put the pan onto a high heat, when it is hot add a small knob of butter or a little oil and swirl around the pan so that the base is covered.  Add some pancake batter into the centre of the pan and immediately swirl around so that all the base of the pan is covered in batter.  If there isn't quite enough mixture quickly add a little more and swirl around to fill in the gaps. Practice makes perfect and you'll soon be able to gauge the right amount of batter to add. Cook the pancake until the base is cooked.  You'll see that the mixture will start to lift from the base of the pan but you can sneak a peak by lifting an edge.  Make sure the pancake is loose by giving the pan a shake.  If it isn't loose just loosen the edges with a plastic spatula (you don't want to scratch your non-stick pan). Then tip the pancake to the edge of the pan and flip!  Cook the other side then serve with a filling or topping of your choice.

Fillings
If you're going to fill them with an ingredient that needs warming up, i.e. cheese and ham or nutella, as soon as you've flipped the pancake the first time place the filling on the top so that is heats through whilst the underside is cooking.  You can then either roll the pancake up or fold it in half and then half again to serve.  If you are using the pancakes to make a quick cannelloni I would heat the meat bolognese separately so that you know it is heated through thoroughly, fill the pancakes off the heat, roll them up and top with grated cheese.  You could also grill them lightly before serving.

You can also make a pancake pizza.  When you have flipped the pancake the first time take it off the heat, spread some tomato passata or my fresh tomato sauce over the whole of the pancake.  Add some chopped up ham, mushrooms, whatever topping you like finishing with some grated cheese and pop it under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling.