Rachel Allen - Home Cooking

3Cook on one side for 1–2 minutes until bubbles appear on the upper surface, then flip over with a fish slice or palette knife and cook on the other side for a further 1–2 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with any remaining mixture, keeping any cooked pancakes warm in a low oven (cover with foil) as you go.

4Serve dredged with icing sugar and your choice of toppings from below.

* Crème fraîche or Greek or natural yoghurt

* Slices of mango or strawberry, or pomegranate seeds

* Honey or maple or golden syrup

* Chopped nuts, such as pecans, hazelnuts or almonds

* Pumpkin or sunflower seeds

* Top with banana slices and toffee sauce (see page 337)

Choose one of the following to fold into the batter once it’s made:

Banana pancakes:1 large or 1½ small—medium bananas, mashed (giving 150g/5oz mashed weight)

Berry pancakes:75g (3oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) berries of your choice

Chocolate chip pancakes:75g (3oz) chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate)

Dried fruit pancakes:75g (3oz) dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, apricots or cranberries (chopped if large)

Cinnamon pancakes:1½ tsp ground cinnamon

This delicious wet muesli is so easy to assemble and more nutritious than shop-bought dried muesli. You could use other fruit instead of apples — whatever is to hand.

4 tbsp oat flakes

2 eating apples

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp single or regular cream (optional)

1Measure 3 tablespoons of water into a bowl and sprinkle in the oats. Leave for a few minutes to soak.

2In the meantime, coarsely grate the apples with the skin still on and avoiding the core. Stir into the softened oats, along with the honey. Taste, adding a little more honey to sweeten, if necessary. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately, drizzled with cream, if you wish.

Apple and cinnamon muesli:Stir a pinch of cinnamon into the water before adding the oats.

Raspberry and orange muesli:Substitute the apples with 50g (2oz) crushed raspberries and stir into the oats with the finely grated zest of 1 small orange.

Apple, blackberry and pecan nut muesli:In addition to the apple, stir 25g (1oz) blackberries into the oats with 2 teaspoons of finely chopped pecan nuts.

Waffles are a perfect weekend breakfast, but they can make an excellent snack at any time of day. They go well with so many different toppings, sweet or savoury. I’ve listed some of my favourites below.

400g (14oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

100g (3½oz) caster sugar

4 eggs

200g (7oz) butter, melted and cooled

600ml (1 pint) milk

Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

1Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar and mix well together. Whisk the eggs in another bowl, then stir in the melted butter and milk. Pour the wet ingredients into the centre of the dry ingredients, whisking all the time until you have a smooth batter.

2Heat the waffle machine. Using a ladle, pour some batter into the machine — don’t fill it too full. Close the lid and cook for 4–5 minutes or following the manufacturer’s instructions, or until the waffles are golden brown and cooked through. Remove the waffles, dredge with icing sugar (if using) and add your choice of topping to serve.

The quantities are for 1 waffle.

Bacon and maple syrup:Serve each waffle with 1–2 pieces of back or streaky bacon, a drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of soured cream.

Peanut butter and jam:Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or homemade nut butter (see page 252) over the waffle and blob 1 tablespoon of raspberry or strawberry jam on top.

Kiwi fruit and raspberries:Scatter over 1 chopped kiwi fruit and a small handful of raspberries. Drizzle with a little runny honey and add a dollop of Greek or natural yoghurt.

The ultimate fast food, an omelette is perfect at any time of day, either on its own or with a crisp green salad. It is incredibly versatile, too. Try the variations listed here.

2 eggs

2 tsp milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1Place a 23cm (9in) non-stick or cast-iron frying pan on a high heat until very hot. (The omelette should take only about 40–45 seconds to cook if the pan is hot enough.) Place the eggs in a bowl, add the milk, season with salt and pepper and beat together until thoroughly mixed.

2Add the butter and olive oil to the pan and as soon as the butter sizzles and starts to turn brown, pour in the egg mixture. It will start to cook immediately, so using a plastic fish slice or wooden spatula, quickly pull the edges of the omelette towards the centre, tilting the pan so that the uncooked egg runs to the sides. Continue until most of the egg is set and will not run any more — the omelette may need to cook for a further 5 seconds to slightly brown the bottom. The centre should still be soft and moist. If you are using a filling (see below), then add it in a line along the centre now (except for those added to the egg mixture at the start).

3To fold the omelette, flip the edge closest to the handle into the centre, then tilt the pan so that it is almost perpendicular to the plate so that the opposite edge of the omelette folds in and the omelette flips over. As you do this, slide the omelette out of the pan and onto the plate, and serve immediately.

Alpine breakfast omelette:To the egg mixture add 25g (1oz) grated Emmental and Gruyère cheese, 25g (1oz) soft and creamy goat’s cheese and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped chives and beat all the ingredients together.

Courgette and herb omelette:Sauté 50g (2oz) finely diced courgette with 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and a small pinch of salt and pepper in 15g (½oz) of butter or 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes until soft and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool. Stir into the egg mixture along with 2 tablespoons of finely chopped herbs (such as mint, marjoram or basil).

Bacon and mushroom omelette:Stir 1 teaspoon of finely chopped chives into the egg mixture before cooking. Place 2 rashers of grilled bacon and 1 fried or roasted flat mushroom in the middle of the omelette before folding over. (This is a great way of using up leftover ingredients from a fried breakfast.)

Smoked salmon and goat’s cheese omelette:Add 25g (1oz) finely diced smoked salmon and 25g (1oz) soft, mild goat’s cheese (or cream cheese for an even milder flavour) to the middle of the omelette before folding over.

The French call this pain perdu (‘lost bread’). It is made with slightly stale, leftover bread that you would otherwise throw out, but if you have only fresh bread to hand, leave it out overnight to dry out.