When Shrove Tuesday comes around, do you tend to enjoy the same toppings year in, year out, or do you prefer to try something new? Katy Hofstede-Smith loves to play around with different flavour combinations for limitless possibilities…
Once we’ve all finally recovered from Christmas and are fully in the gloomy depths of winter, Shrove Tuesday provides a glimmer of hope that spring is just around the corner. For many, I’m sure, Shrove Tuesday is the only day of the year when pancakes move from breakfast offering to dinner item (or if you’re my husband, strictly after dinner dessert: the concept of pancake supper the first year he witnessed my Shrove Tuesday traditions did not go down well!) but there is no reason why they have to be sweet and sticky, or resigned to just one day of the year.
This is where my Dutch lineage comes in to play. Growing up with a Dutch father, a country where pancake consumption is a matter of national pride and a frequent affair, pancake suppers were quite common in my childhood. In Holland the pancakes are often made with a mix of white and buckwheat flour, especially the savoury ones, which gives them an interesting nutty flavour and a slightly thicker texture, and makes them very healthy (buckwheat flour is often on the healthy “super” ingredients list).
Toppings are delicious and often unusual and pretty much limitless. Strips of ham or pancetta with mushroom and softened onions; spring onion with melted Gouda cheese; pancetta with apple and either onions or raisins. These are all relatively traditional but do as the Dutch do and let your imagination run wild with more unusual ideas as well.
Why not try smoked sausage, sauerkraut and apple; roast vegetables; goats’ cheese and walnuts; chicken, chorizo, peppers and cheese; thin slices of steak (flash fried), gorgonzola and mushrooms or prawn and smoked salmon with crème fraiche and a sprinkling of dill. If you fancy something spicier, use your savoury pancake to wrap some curry-spiced vegetables and mango chutney, or tikka chicken pieces with lime pickle and shredded carrot. For an oriental direction cook in some spring onions and ginger and wrap up roast duck and plum sauce, or go for a Tex Mex flavour by wrapping up spicy bean chilli, placing in an oven dish and covering with cheese, jalapeños and tomato and baking until toasty.
Sweet toppings are probably my favourite and you can choose between fresh and light, warming and homely or just plain indulgent. Cinnamon, sugar and whipped cream; fresh fruit and mascarpone; slices of apple baked into the pancake with Gouda cheese melted on top; sliced banana and chocolate sauce; beautiful vanilla ice cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce and melted dark chocolate or lemon curd stirred through whipped cream with fresh blueberries are all amazing combinations.
Shrove Tuesday is a really nice opportunity to invite friends or family over, or is great for a children’s supper. Put out lots of bowls with different toppings and let your guests get creative, you’re bound to come up with some new family classics!