Happy Pancake Day! I don’t observe Lent personally, but as with the rest of the food-related holidays (not sure it’s an actual holiday, but whatever), I’m more than happy to jump onto the bandwagon. More food is always a good thing, yes? Yes.
As a kid, we just had pancakes for dessert on Shrove Tuesday, but growing up I’ve learnt that eating pancakes for dinner is a thing? I had no idea. Back then I’d have been more than happy to eat dessert for dinner, but now, I really do prefer the savoury stuff. So every Shrove Tuesday, savoury pancakes for dinner it is. Followed by a couple of sweet ones because why not? It’s not like I load them up with golden syrup AND sugar anymore anyway…
…Maybe I do. On that bombshell, let me quickly move onto these savoury, genuine dinner-material pancakes. The pancakes (or I guess, technically, crepes) are made with nutty, slightly healthier buckwheat flour, which makes for an appealingly grey pancake batter btw. It’s good, promise! These are then heartily filled with a creamy mixture of chicken, delicate leeks and tangy wholegrain mustard and topped off with a good scattering of cheddar – savoury perfection. They’re then folded up, topped off with some more cheese for good measure and baked until gooey in the middle and crispy at the edges.
Just look at it, it’s literally begging to be eaten. It’d be cruel not to.
Chicken, Leek and Wholegrain Mustard Buckwheat Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 568 ml /1pt milk
- 125 g /4oz buckwheat flour
- 125 g /4oz plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoon oil of your choice
- oil or lard for frying
- 2 chicken breast fillets diced
- 2 leeks halved lengthwise and finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon /30g buckwheat flour or plain flour
- 300 ml /1/2pt milk
- 300 ml /1/2pt chicken stock or water
- 4 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- 75 g extra mature cheddar grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
- To make the pancake batter: Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk. Gradually whisk in the flour and salt until you have a smooth batter. Whisk in 2 tablespoon oil. Set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes.
- When ready to cook your pancakes, heat a large frying pan, or crepe pan if you have one, over a medium-high heat. Heat a little oil or lard and add a ladleful of batter to the pan and swirl to cover the base. Be prepared that your first one is likely to be a dud! Cook for about a minute per side. Repeat until you have 4 or 8 pancakes, depending on how many you want to make.
- To make the filling: Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a frying pan. Lightly season the diced chicken breast with salt and pepper before adding to the pan. Fry until browned for 5 minutes or so. Remove to a bowl.
- Add another 1/2 tbsp oil to the pan along with 1 tbsp butter. Add the sliced leeks along with a pinch of a salt. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Add back the chicken.
- Add the buckwheat flour to the chicken and leeks. Cook, stirring constantly, for a minute or two before adding the milk and chicken stock (or water) gradually to make a thick sauce. Stir in the wholegrain mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Lay out your pancakes. Divide the filling between them. You can either make 4 large ones and fold them in half or 8 smaller ones and fold into half and half again if you want a slightly more filling meal. Scatter a small amount of cheese inside before folding.
- Oil a baking sheet and arrange your pancakes on it. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Notes
Go on.
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