Pancake Day

 The expression 'Shrove Tuesday' comes from the word shrive, meaning 'confess'. Observed by many Christians who make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to deal with.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the penitential season of lent. This is a period of 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday, it is a season of reflection, a time of abstinence, a new beginning, a fresh start. A bit deeper than the general consensus that Shrove Tuesday is just a good excuse to indulge in lots of syrupy pancakes!

Personally I shan't be giving anything up for lent, however, I am using the season of lent as a time for reflection. There is a saying which goes: 'every morning we are born again, what we do today is what matters most.' I think it's good to have a bit of self reflection once in a while, sometimes we get caught up on the treadmill of life and forget to award ourselves, and others, respect and kindness.

Pancakes were traditionally eaten on the Shriving Tuesday for two reasons, firstly because they contain fat, butter and eggs all of which were forbidden during lent, secondly so that no food was wasted, families feasted on foods that might go off during the forty days of lent.

Pancake day still seems to be a traditional practice, although we now tend to eat pancakes whenever we want. I remember as a child going to a French restaurant with my parents where they would order Crepes Suzette which would be flambéd at the table. I was always fascinated by this but never allowed to have the pancakes as they were doused in Cointreau, cognac and kirsch.

Whenever I visit a local Spanish restaurant I always order the Crepes Suzette out of sheer nostalgia, and of course, because they are so delicious.

Crepes Suzette

Recipe
Serves 4

Pancakes
125g plain flour
1 egg and 1 yolk
300ml milk

Sift flour into bowl, make a well in the middle
Whisk egg and yolk, add a little milk, pour into the well and begin to whisk with flour
Gradually add remaining milk until you have a smooth batter
Heat a frying pan and brush with a little oil
Ladle 2-3 tablespoons of batter into hot pan, tilting so that the batter spreads evenly across the bottom
Cook for 45 seconds, loosen the pancake and flip it over with a palette knife
Cook the other side for 30 seconds and repeat until you have roughly 12 thin pancakes
Stack your pancakes on a plate (if they are hot when you stack them they won't stick)

Sauce
Juice of 2 oranges
175g butter
75g caster sugar
80ml liqueur (Grand Marnier, Cointreau or licor 43)

Pour the orange juice into a pan, add butter and sugar, bring to the boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes until the sauce becomes syrupy

Fold your pancakes into quarters and arrange them in your pan in a circular pattern slightly overlapping each other

Warm the crepes through for 3 minutes over a low heat
Pour liqueur over the crepes and set light to the pan to flambé them

      

                                                                Serve immediately

'Drama is very important in life: you have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake'
-Julia Child

Happy pancake day
Love Donna xxxxx