Mushroom and bacon pancakes by James Tanner

For Shrove Tuesday, James Tanner made a tasty meal with this simple savoury pancake recipe

Ingredients

Basic pancake batter:

200 g7 oz plain flour
2 large eggs
600 ml21 fl oz milk
Pinch of salt
Knob of butter or vegetable oil, for cooking

For the savoury filling:

200 g7 oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced
4 rashers of smoked bacon, cut into lardons
2 garlic cloves, sliced
300 g10½ oz spinach, blanched and drained
1 tsp tarragon, chopped
Grate of fresh nutmeg
100 g3½ oz goat's cheese, crumbled
8 pancakes (from above)
100 ml3½ fl oz white wine
75 ml2¾ fl oz whipping cream

Method: How to make Mushroom and bacon pancakes

For the basic pancake batter: Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre, crack in the eggs and add ¾ of the milk.

Whisk everything together then add the remaining milk. Whisk until a smooth thin batter. Heat a small amount of oil or butter in a non-stick pan then pour off any excess hot fat. Coat the base of the pan with a thin layer of batter and cook for around 40 seconds.

Flip or turn with a palette knife, cook other side, then slide onto a plate. Repeat the process and stack up pancakes between sheets of non-stick baking paper until required.

To make the filling:

Dry fry the bacon lardons in a large pan until crispy remove and drain on kitchen paper, next cook the mushrooms and garlic in the bacon fat until softened, add wine, reduce a little, then add ¾ of the goats cheese and cream.

Bring to a simmer to create a cheesy sauce, add the drained spinach, heat through and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Fill the pancakes and roll up - put in gratin dish and pour over any remaining liquid.

Scatter over remaining goats cheese and pop under a hot grill for a few minutes or until golden, to crisp up. Garnish with tarragon if desired and serve with a green salad.