The George Lite Zone

Another year, another pancake day. Ingredients 125g plain flour, preferably Italian 00 1 egg 300 ml milk 15-30g cooled butter, melted (optional) Making the batter Make a mound of flour in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and make a well in the top. Crack open the egg and put it into the well. Using a wooden spoon gradually mix in the flour from the sides and beat in the milk to make a smooth batter. When the batter is creamy, stop and switch to a whisk, at this point you can add the butter which makes more of a crèpe mix (ordinary pancakes don't need the butter). Leave to stand for at least half an hour. If the batter thickens in this period add milk or water (or maybe some rum if you're making crèpes) to bring its consistency to that of single-cream. Cooking the pancakes Use very little oil and very little batter. The pan must be very hot, heat the oil in the pan first, then empty it before adding just enough batter to cover the base of the pan When bubbles come to the surface flip...

Inspired by my earlier dialog on pancakes, I decided to make up a batch of ham and cheese galettes. The recipe for them follows: - Ingredients 250 gr [9 oz] buckwheat flour 1 egg 1/2 liter [17 fl oz] water 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon salt Preperation Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the oil and the egg to this well. Gradualy fold in the flour from the sides using a wooden spoon to begin to gradually add the water. Turn gently until the flour has disappeared. Finish with a whisk to make a smooth batter which should be left for at least one hour before cooking. Cooking Give the batter a turn. Heat a pan, and put a small knob of butter in (swirling to distribute). The pan must be ho but not too hot that the butter browns. Pour a small laddle of batter into the pan, while swirling it to distribute the batter evenly. Cook until golden, turn the galette upside down and add any filling you'd like, such as ham and gruyere cheese. Continue to heat unti...

Prior to pancake day tomorrow, I discussed the relative merits of the English pancake and the French crèpe with my good friend Geraud. In the course of this we exchanged recipes. Here's his contribution on the art of the perfect crèpe. I'll post mine tomorow on the good day itself. The crèpes you get with this one are thicker than those you can get in Britany for example, although it has to do with the fact that I just poor the liquid into the pan rather than flatten it with the special tool they have over there. Now, how to prepare some good crèpes quickly : in a pot, poor : - one liter or milk (I use full fat milk, but half works as well), - 6 eggs (yes, six), - a tea spoon of salt, - eventually a small pack of Vanilla sugar, if you plan to eat your crèpes sweet only, - eventually a small pack of the chemical powder than makes the cakes grow (that's where my english is very limited...). That's not mandatory though - 8 dL (that is, 400g) of white flour - a sma...