Rachel Allen - Recipes from My Mother

3. Repeat until all the slices of bread are fried. Serve drizzled with maple syrup and slices of crispy bacon or dusted with icing sugar.

Buckwheat crêpes with ham, cheese and eggs

SERVES 6

I love the nuttiness (and added nutrition) that buckwheat flour brings to these crêpes. This makes for a superb brunch or supper.

For the batter

100g (3½oz) buckwheat flour

½ tsp sea salt

1 egg

200ml (7fl oz) milk

40g (1½oz) butter, melted

For the filling

200g (7oz) Gruyère, Emmental or Comté cheese, grated

6 slices of best-quality ham

a little butter, for frying

6 eggs

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. First, make the batter. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Put the egg, milk and melted butter into a measuring jug, add 100ml (3½fl oz) water and whisk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, then pour the liquid into the well, whisking all the time to gradually draw in the flour from the edges of the bowl, until you have a smooth batter with a few bubbles on top. Use straight away, or it can store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

2. Preheat the grill to medium or the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6 (see tip).

3. Heat a frying pan (ovenproof if you’re using the oven). Rub a piece of kitchen paper in the butter and wipe it over the base of the pan – do this each time you put in a new batch of batter. Pour in some of the batter and swirl it around to coat the base of the pan with a thin layer. Allow to fry until it sets and is golden underneath, then flip it over and immediately place a slice of ham in the centre of the crêpe. Cover the ham with grated cheese, leaving a little dip in the middle, and break the egg into the dip. Fold up the edges of the pancake to meet the edge of the egg white, then place the pan under the grill or in the oven until the cheese has melted and the egg is cooked. Repeat for all the other crêpes, serving each finished one at once.

TIP

You can either make all the crêpes first then fill and bake them one at a time, or if you have two pans and a bit of nerve, you can leave one pan cooking the finished crêpe in the oven while the other is cooking the batter on the hob.

Potato pancakes with black pudding and glazed apples

MAKES 12 PANCAKES

A great way to use up leftover potatoes, these little pancakes are almost blini-like and I adore the meaty black pudding and sweet, sticky glazed apple topping. Another great topping for these pancakes is the Beetroot, Dill and Horseradish Gravlax with Mustard and Dill Mayonnaise.

For the pancakes

75g (3oz) plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

2 eggs

125ml (4½fl oz) milk

225g (8oz) cold mashed potato (no butter or milk added)

15g (½oz) butter, for frying

For the glazed apples

40g (1½oz) butter

2 eating apples, peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 5mm (¼in) slices

30g (1¼oz) caster sugar

juice of ½ lemon

For the sage butter

50g (2oz) butter

2 tsp chopped sage

For the black pudding

15g (½oz) butter

about 24 slices (cut 7.5mm/⅜in thick) black pudding (2 per pancake) – peel the skin off the black pudding before slicing

1. First, make the pancakes. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the salt and mix. Crack the eggs into another bowl and whisk, then mix in the milk and mashed potato. Pour this into the dry ingredients, whisking as you add it. Set aside.

2. Heat a pan over a medium heat. Rub a piece of kitchen paper in the butter and wipe it over the base of the pan – do this each time you put in a new batch of batter. When the pan is hot, drop generous tablespoonfuls of the batter, spaced apart, in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes until golden underneath, then turn over and cook the other side until golden. Remove from the pan and keep them warm while you make the others.

3. Meanwhile, place a pan (another frying pan if you have one) over a medium-high heat and add the butter for the glazed apples. Allow it to melt and foam, then tip in the apple slices and spread them out. Toss them over the heat for a few minutes until they are light golden, then add the sugar and lemon juice and continue to toss until the apples are tender and beautifully glazed. Keep warm.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter for the sage butter and add the sage. Allow it to foam, then take the pan off the heat.

5. To cook the black pudding slices, place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the black pudding slices and fry until they are cooked on both sides and hot inside.

6. Divide the warm pancakes among warm plates. Top each pancake with a few glazed apple slices, then 2 slices of black pudding and, finally, a drizzle of hot sage butter.

Cheese and bacon muffins

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

These great savoury muffins are just crying out to be packed up and taken on a picnic. I often use a mixture of leftover delicious farmhouse cheeses in these, which ensures they’re slightly different every time I make them.

150g (5oz) streaky bacon rashers

225g (8oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp sea salt

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

125g (4½oz) cheese, grated (I like a mixture of Cheddar, Gruyère and Parmesan)

1 egg

75g (3oz) butter, melted

225ml (8fl oz) milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas mark 5. Line a 12-cup muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

2. Cook the bacon rashers in a frying pan over a medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides. Chop into pieces 1cm (½in) in size.

3. Sift the flour and the baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar, salt and pepper, then mix in the grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces. Whisk the egg in another bowl and mix in the melted butter, the milk and the mustard. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until combined.

4. Divide the mixture among the 12 paper cases and bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean from the centre of a muffin. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Banana pancakes

MAKES ABOUT 12 PANCAKES

Our boys loved these when they were little, and they still love them now. The bananas are great for adding natural sweetness and, of course, nutrition-packed goodness, too.

150g (5oz) plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1 tbsp caster sugar (optional)

2 eggs

150ml (5fl oz) buttermilk

25g (1oz) butter, melted

1 large or 1½ medium bananas, peeled and mashed just before using

a few knobs of butter

butter or maple syrup, to serve

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and bread soda into a bowl. Add the caster sugar (if using) and stir to mix.

2. Crack the eggs into another bowl and whisk, then stir in the buttermilk and melted butter. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, whisking as you add it. The batter is ready to use or can be stored in the fridge overnight.

3. Just before you want to cook the pancakes, fold the mashed bananas into the batter.

4. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and melt a couple of knobs of butter, making sure the base of the pan is covered with a thin layer of butter. I normally wipe the butter all over the pan with some kitchen paper, which I’ll use to re-butter the pan for each batch of pancakes.