For a bit of drama go with the crepe and toss it in the air this Pancake Tuesday

Cultures across the globe celebrate this day. In New Orleans the famous Mardi Gras, or literally Fat Tuesday, festival takes place and it’s replicated in Portugal, Southern American, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Italy, as well as many commonwealth countries.

When we think of pancakes there are essentially two options here. Firstly the fluffy American style pancakes and then the thin French style crepes. If you want a bit of drama go with the crepe – toss it in the air or use for endless recipes, both sweet and savoury. A blintz is a traditional Jewish, filled pancake. The pancake is filled with sweetened cream cheese and fruit, rolled up and fried. It’s a creative way of using thin crepes. The fruit element here is a cooking apple compote but you could just substitute jam. It’s not a usual accompaniment but I like to add some baked crumble mixture sprinkled over the top. This is quite the decadent dish and perfect if you’re going to embrace abstinence for the following six weeks.

While I love a nice fluffy, sweet pancake served straight from the griddle with a splash of maple syrup, the recipe does lend itself quite well as a savoury version. Mashed potatoes are combined with egg, milk and flour and cooked in same way as the sweet version. Dollop tablespoons of the mixture onto a lightly oiled pan and flip over when bubbles appear. In the recipe here I’ve served them with smoked flaked mackerel, cucumber pickle and a dollop of horseradish sour cream. In the past I would have served these with smoked salmon but I don’t eat farmed fish any more and to purchase wild smoked salmon would require me to remortgage the house. Smoked mackerel is from here, its wild and is a cheaper but equally good alternative. The pancakes could be served as small bite sized nibbles or as a starter size. Another alternative for serving them is to fry some bacon and use the fat to cook the potato pancakes in. Serve with a soft fried egg for a delicious brunch dish.

Personally I think pancakes are too good a thing to restrict to one day a year. They’re relatively simple with accessible ingredients and just add a bit of fun to any day of the year.