Said Simon to the Pieman

This is my latest recipe for local Essex free publication Inspired. Look out for it around Essex. Locally to me I know it’s available at Tesco & Sainsburys in Chelmsford as well as Chelmsford train station.

Christmas is a time of celebration, so why not start the day off in style with my Prosecco pancakes. They are based on the more thicker American style pancakes  with an added fluffiness from the Prosecco.  The great thing with them is that you can then put what you like on top. Go for the traditional maple syrup or they go just as well with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (my personal favourite).

Ingredients

135g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp caster sugar

65 ml milk

65 mil Prosecco (Cava or Champagne will work just as well)

1 large egg

2 tbsp olive oil.

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat the egg, milk and olive oil together. Pour the egg and milk into the flour and mix in before adding the Prosecco. Continue to beat the mixture until all the lumps have gone. This will be quite a thick batter and then leave it aside for a few minutes. You will see a few bubbles form which is what you want.

Heat a pan over medium with some butter or oil and pour one ladle of the batter into the pan. Try to use a small pan or don’t let the batter spread out too much. The top of the pancake will start to bubble, check underneath and you should find it is golden brown. Turn it over and cook the other side. You can put the pancakes on a baking tray and keep in a warm oven while you cook the rest.

I topped mine with some scrambled eggs made with soured cream (instead of adding milk), chives and a dash of Prosecco just to add to the occasion. I then added some crispy streaky bacon and chestnut smoked salmon. Serve with a glass of Prosecco mixed with cranberry juice, cassis or your preferred fruit juice. Cheers and happy Christmas.