Pancakes with Pheasant

I love making pancakes for supper. Because I start with my mom’s recipe, from the card I copied out when I was 18, it always makes me think of ‘home’, although my pancakes never turn out like Mom’s anymore. Maybe it’s just the different ‘touch’ that different cooks have, or the different equipment (I no longer own an electric fry pan with precise temperature control), or maybe it’s because I’m always tweaking recipes. Mom’s pancakes are light and fluffy every time, perfect for stacking. Mine are more like crepes, an effect I used to struggle to achieve.

This tweaked version of the recipe makes 6 fillable pancakes, which is just right for two people. You can make the pancake batter ahead of time, and refrigerate a couple of hours if you like. Be aware that refrigeration will change the final texture of your pancakes. I make a savoury filling for the main course, enough to fill two pancakes each.  For dessert, I might make a fresh fruit sauce, or serve them very simply with jam or maple syrup.

Serves 2

For the pancakes: 

1 cup	Sifted plain flour
1 tablespoon	Sugar
1 tablespoon	Baking powder
Dash	Salt
1 cup	Milk (I use 2%=semi-skimmed)
1/4 cup	Vegetable oil
1/3 cup	Plain yogurt
1	Egg

Directions:

1. Sift dry ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl.
2. Put all remaining ingredients in bowl; whisk until just incorporated. There will be lumps. Set aside.
3. Allow the batter to rest. Refrigerate if this will be more than half an hour.
4. Preheat griddle with a few drops of vegetable oil while you prepare the filling. A cast iron griddle takes a while to come up to temperature, but then holds its heat very well, so you may eventually need to turn the burner down a bit.
5. When griddle is hot (a tiny bit of water dripped onto the surface will dance), ladle approximately ½ cup batter onto centre.  Using the bottom of the ladle, swirl the liquid out into as big a circle as you can before it begins to firm up.
6. When the pancake surface is bubbly, carefully loosen with spatula (=pancake turner) and flip the pancake. 
7. It won’t take long for the second side to cook. Check for doneness by gently pressing a fingertip on the surface. If it bounces back, pancake is done.
8. Set aside and keep warm while cooking the rest of the pancakes.
9. Make your dessert pancakes special by using the spatula to gently shape them instead of flattening them into crepes. Because I’m a bit of a romantic, I like to make hearts.

Begin making the filling when you start heating the griddle. You can carry on as needed while each pancake is cooking, but you’ll want everything else ready to put on the table before you start.

For the pheasant filling:

1 tablespoon	Butter
2 tablespoons	Chopped onion (one small onion should do)
1 tablespoon	Plain flour
1 teaspoon	Turmeric
1 cup	Milk
1 to 1 ½ cups	Roughly chopped leftover pheasant or small game
Handful	Fresh spinach, chopped. (Reserve a couple of leaves for garnish)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in small saucepan.
2. Saute to soften onion in butter.
3. Stir in flour and turmeric to absorb all liquid.
4. Whisk in the milk.
5. Raise heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly.
6. When thickened, add meat and spinach, mixing well.
7. Reduce heat and cover, stirring occasionally until hot through.
8. Keep hot until ready to serve.

To serve:

Place one pancake upside down on each plate, scoop about ½ cup meaty filling onto it, and push to one edge. Roll up (probably only one full roll) and scoot it over to make room for the second pancake. Fill and roll; position attractively on the plate. Dribble any extra filling across the tops and add a spinach leaf or two for garnish.

Keep dessert pancakes hot in the kitchen until you’re ready to serve and eat.

About Julia Davis-Coombs

I'm an American living in the UK, combining rural Mid-west ideas about food with a suburban coastal British reality. It's fun!

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Tagged with: Game, Leftovers, Pancakes, Pheasant, Spinach, Yogurt
Posted in Leftovers, Recipes