Selection Of Mushrooms - Chanterelle, Shiitake and Chestnut

How to make the mixed mushroom stuffing

75g / 3oz butter
1tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
500g / 1lb mushrooms, wiped, stalks removed and chopped
25g / 1oz fresh breadcrumbs
Pinch of nutmeg powder
Pinch of paprika
Pinch of ground white pepper
1tbsp chopped fesh parsley
1tbsp crème fraiche

You can use any mushrooms for the mushrooms.  I actually used 100g of shiitake, 100g of chanterelle and 300g of chestnut mushrooms for an extra woody and earthy flavour.  Champignons from the shops can be a bit flavourless.

Melt the butter and heat the oil together in a saucepan and then add the finely chopped onion and garlic.  I whizzed them up quickly in a food processor.  Cook these gently until translucent which will take about 5 minutes.

Now add the chopped mushrooms and fry at a high heat until cooked through but not burnt.  Stir in the breadcrumbs, add the seasoning and the crème fraiche together with the chopped parsley.

To stuff the pancakes, put about 1 tablespoon of the mixed mushrooms in the centre of the pancakes and then spread along its length and about 3cm wide.  Now fold over half the pancake and roll up the pancake.  Place the stuffed pancake in a baking tray.  Repeat this for the other pancakes.

Putting Mushroom Stuffing Into Savoury Pancake

One Pancake Well Stuffed With Mushrooms

How to make the cheese sauce

50g / 2oz butter
50g / 2oz plain flour
500ml / 1pt milk
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of paprika
A pinch of ground white pepper
125g / 5oz greated cheddar cheese
50g / 2oz grated cheddar cheese (for sprinkling over the final dish)

To make the cheese sauce first melt the butter in a heavy pan, then add the flour.  Stir this well.  Let the mixture cook gently for about one minute then add the milk little by little, stirring continuously after each addition.  When all the milk has been used, add the first lot of grated cheese and the seasonings and stir in thoroughly.

To finish off the stuffed pancakes

Pre-heat the oven to 180^oC / 350^oF.

Pour the cheese sauce over the stuffed crêpes and then sprinkle the last cheese over the top.

Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling.

Mushroom Stuffed Pancakes In Cheese Sauce

Serve immediately.  We served ours with new potatoes, peas and a salad.

First, let’s start with a classic pancake recipe.  This is the type of recipe that everyone needs to be able to bang out without really thinking about; it’s a staple, basic meal.  We make it without measuring anything – a bit of flour, a couple of eggs, some salt and add milk until the consistency is about right.  So while the recipe is a simple pan cake recipe, it was actually pretty difficult to work back to a workable recipe.

Ingredients – for 8 – 10

110g / 4oz plain flour
1 free range egg
1 free range egg yolk
Pinch of salt
275ml / 10fl oz full fat milk (traditionally you should use 50:50 water-milk mixture, but I like to give it a good, rich flavour)
1tbsp sunflower oil
1tsp sunflower oil or butter or lard – for the frying

Eggs and Flour For Pancake Batter

Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl.  Mix in the salt.  Make a dent in the flour and drop the egg into this.  Add a small amount of milk, roughly 2 tablespoons and with a metal hand whisk, thoroughly mix the egg and milk into the flour.  Now add some more milk and whisk thoroughly again.  Carry on doing this a little bit at a time until the batter is becoming runny.  Now add the rest of the milk, the 1tbsp of sunflower oil and whisk again.

Whisking Pancake Batter

 
You need to slowly add the milk at the beginning as this ensures that the pancake batter is thoroughly mixed through and there are no lumps.  Now leave the pancake batter to prove for about 30 minutes; it really is worth leaving the pancake batter to prove as this makes the final pancake rise to a fuller height.

We often tweak the recipe in the morning by adding a pinch of cinnamon powder as this really makes for a nice, warming and homely flavour.

To make the pancakes, add a teaspoon of sunflower oil and spread it evenly over the skillet using perhaps a piece of kitchen paper.  You can use a similar amount of either butter or lard, but we like sunflower oil.

Leave it to heat through throughly until sizzling hot – be a bit patient as the reason why many people say that the first pancake just doesn’t work is that they don’t wait for the pan to get hot enough.  Add about half a soup spoon (2 tablespoons) full of pancake batter to the frying pan and spread it over the pan. 

Heat through until the top is just dried through and then flip over using a spatula and heat the other side.  You can lift the edge up to check that it is getting a nice light brown if you are worried that it is going to burn.

Frying Pancake

Serve straight away or keep warm in an oven at about 125^oC/ 300^oF.

You can then top it with a teaspoon of sugar or flavoured sugar, or sugar and lemon, or (for the kids) spread with Nutella or another chocolate spread.

How do you like yours?