Happy Pancake Day!
Or, if you prefer, happy Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), happy Carnival, happy Shrove Tuesday, happy Máirt Inide, happy Sprengidagur (bursting day), happy Fastnacht Day (Violet Tuesday), happy Güdeldienstag (fat belly stuffed with food)!
Pancake Day is upon us again and it’s the perfect excuse to have breakfast for dinner. It marks the last day of feasting on meats and rich, fatty foods, and using up pantry staples like eggs and milk, before fasting starts for the Christian Lent period. In other words, it’s a day for indulging and eating all the good things!
But did you know, that even though Pancake Day has been celebrated as a Christian tradition as far back as the 16th century, it actually has pagan origins? It’s believed that pancakes symbolised the sun and its warmth, and eating them helped the god Jarilo defeat the evil winter spirits of cold and darkness, and herald in the beginning of spring.
While the custom of eating pancakes on this day is predominately found in English-speaking countries, other places around the world also celebrate the pre-Lenten season with their own indulgent and traditional foods.
So choose your weapon: pancakes, salted meat and peas, doughnuts, sausage omelettes, malasadas, pea soup or whipped cream and jam-filled sweet buns, street processions, fancy dress or masquerade balls.
No matter how you celebrate the day, I hope you indulge in many yummy foods, maybe even these Ricotta and Rosemary Pancakes with Maple-Baked Peaches and Spiced Nuts.
Ricotta and Rosemary Pancakes
Ingredients
Maple Syrup-Baked Peaches
- 60 ml maple syrup
- 3 peaches, pitted and quartered
Spiced Seeds
- 80 g pepitas, or 40g pepitaas and 40g sunflower seeds
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pancakes
- 4 eggs, separated
- 250 g milk
- 225 g self-raising flour, sifted
- 2 tsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 80 ml maple syrup, plus extra to serve
- 350 g fresh ricotta
- 80 g unsalted butter
- Creme fraiche, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. For the maple syrup peaches, add the peaches, cut-side down to a baking tray and drizzle over the maple syrup. Roast for 30 minutes or until softened and lightly caramelised. Set aside to cool to room temperature.3 peaches, 60 ml maple syrup
- For the seeds, place all the ingredients in a dry saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes until golden and fragrant.80 g pepitas, 1/2 tsp whole cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Combine the flour, milk egg yolks and ricotta in a bowl. Add the maple syrup and rosemary and fold together.4 eggs, 250 g milk, 225 g self-raising flour, 2 tsp rosemary leaves, 80 ml maple syrup, 350 g fresh ricotta
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Fold one-third of the egg whites through the ricotta batter to loosen, then fold the remaining egg whites through the batter to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes to rest.
- In batches, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat, swirling to coat the pan. Spoon 1/3 cup batter per pancake into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden and fluffy. Set aside and keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter and pancake batter.80 g unsalted butter
- Serve the pancakes stacked with peaches, seeds, extra maple syrup and creme fraiche on the side.Creme fraiche
Cook along with me
Nutrition
Recipe by Pheobe Wood
2 Comments
These look so delicious. Ricotta and Rosemary isn’t a combination I would have thought of so I’m going to have to give these a go now! #AnythingGoes
Please let me know when you do try them out! I know it seems like a not-so-obvious flavour combination but it really works