Put your leftovers in pancakes

Calling all Love Food Hate Waste lovers… the ultimate raid your fridge and cupboard celebration is nearly upon us – on 21st February it’s Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday)!

Traditionally, pancakes are eaten to use up the butter and eggs before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is a time to indulge and an opportunity to use whatever you have got in the kitchen. We don’t just mean the chocolate or fruit you have, but vegetables and meat too.

Start off with our basic pancake recipe (it makes between 6 and 10 pancakes)

• 1 medium egg (beaten)
• 125g (4oz) of plain flour – for a lump free pancake sieve the flour
• 300ml (half pint) of milk
• 1 pinch of baking powder

1. Mix together the ingredients above with a whisk and make sure it is lump free
2. Heat up a frying pan and pour in a little vegetable oil (do not use olive oil as this will make the pancakes taste of olive oil)
3. When the oil has warmed up, use a kitchen towel to spread the oil around the pan – this also makes sure that the pan is coated with a minimal amount of oil
4. Pour in enough batter to cover the base of the pan and quickly rotate the pan, to make sure the batter spreads around the pan
5. Cook until the edge of the pancakes come away from the pan – do not be tempted to stir or flip until the batter slightly changes colour and the edges stop sticking to the pan
6. Using a spatula, loosen the pancake and flip it over (don’t worry if you can’t flip it like the TV chefs, it’s better to eat it from the pan than the floor!)
7. Cook until the second side of the pancake is golden brown
8. Fold and serve hot

If you want to eat at the same time as the people you’re feeding, place the unfolded pancakes between sheets of greaseproof paper onto a plate placed on top of a pan of simmering hot water and cover with a clean tea towel to keep them warm until you are ready to eat them.

How could you eat yours?

You can go traditional, serving the pancakes hot, with lemon juice and sugar, but if you’re feeling more adventurous, try these combinations:

Savoury

• Wrap up your chilli with cheese
• Pieces of ham or chicken with chopped up vegetables and cheese
• Pepper, onion and mushroom with pesto
• Leftover roasted meat with branston pickle
• Pork and apple
• Cut up salmon fillet, with broccoli and added sweet chilli sauce
• Mixed vegetables with crème fraiche
• Leeks with goat’s cheese

Sweet fillings

• Slices of banana with chocolate spread
• Mashed banana and peanut butter
• Apple and orange slices with yoghurt
• Honey and crème fraiche
• Fun-sized chocolate bars or Creme Eggs, placed inside a folded pancake, then micro-waved for 30 seconds

There are lots of other ideas out there, just search the internet and magazines for ideas. Don’t forget to ask your friends and family too.

Top tips for leftover pancakes

• Fill up them up with your favourite sandwich filling take it for twist on lunch
• Spread chocolate spread or jam on them, fold them into cigar shapes and add them to your lunchboxes
• Save the plain pancakes and use them instead of a wrap for a Mexican dinner or use them instead of the cannelloni in a spinach and ricotta cannelloni baked dish
• Or freeze them for future treat. Place them between sheets of greaseproof paper and place into freezer bags and freeze. To reuse reheat from frozen with the pancakes stacked and covered with foil in a preheated oven at Gas Mark 1 on a high shelf for 10 – 15 minutes.

Keeping your lemons for longer

If you bought lemons for pancake day but didn’t use them here are a few ideas to make sure you don’t have to throw them away.

• To get most of the juice from your lemon – roll it hard up and down on the worktop or put it in the microwave on high for 10 seconds
• A slightly-squeezed lemon can be rejuvenated by placing it in just-boiled water for a few minutes
• Freeze leftover lemon juice in ice cube trays to use when a recipes calls for a squeeze of lemon
• Grate the zest and freeze for a later date
• Freeze slices of lemon – perfect to add to drinks on a hot day or for a party