Buttermilk Pancakes (Part 2) With Blueberry Sauce

Pancake Tuesday is coming up...and even though we don't celebrate it in the US, we do in Ireland, so I figured I would do something. Pancakes were also the next item in Veggie Feasts for breakfast, so it worked out.

I had been told by Irish people that US pancakes are better because the ones that people in Ireland make are darker and that's how mine turned out....I'm a bigger fan of the other pancakes I made, but these are good as well--especially for the blueberry sauce!

Ingredients:

• Pancakes
• 15g (1/2 oz) butter, melted
• 150g (5 oz) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 350 ml (12 fl oz) buttermilk
• icing sugar, for dusting
• Greek-style yogurt or creme fraiche, to serve (which I left out because I don't like it)
• Blueberry Sauce
• 250 g (8 oz) fresh blueberries
• 2 TBSP clear honey
• dash of lemon juice (I used half a lemon)

Directions:

1) Heat the blueberries with the honey and lemon juice in a small saucepan over a low heat for about 3 minutes (until they release their juices).







 2) Keep warm while you make the pancakes (they will keep releasing juices and become more liquid, don't worry if you don't think its enough at first!)







3) Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
4) Stir in the caster sugar.







5) Beat the egg and buttermilk together in a separate bowl.










6) Whisk into the dry ingredients with the melted butter to make a smooth batter






7) Heat a nonstick frying pan until hot.









8) Drop in large spoonfuls of the batter (I used a normal spoon and did two drops) and cook over a high heat for 3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.







9) Flip the pancakes over and cook for a further minute.
10) Serve the pancakes topped with the blueberry sauce and Greek-style yoghurt or creme fraiche (if you want), and dusted with icing sugar.

Mixed Mushrooms on Toast

From: Veggie Feasts

Ingredients:

• 25 g (1 oz) butter
• 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 750 g (1 1/2 lb) mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, shitake, flat and buttom, trimmed and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 TBSP chopped thyme
• grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 TBSP chopped parsley
• 4 slices of sourdough bread (I used soda bread because its easier to find in Ireland)
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) mixed salad leaves
• salt and black pepper
• fresh Parmesan cheese shavings, to serve

Directions:

1) Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan.









2) Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, lemon rind and salt and pepper.








3) Cook over a medium heat, stirring, for 4-5 minutes, until tender.
4) Scatter over the parsley and squeeze over a little lemon juice.






5) Toast the bread.
6) Top the sourdough toast with an equal quality of the salad leaves and mushrooms.
7) Drizzle over a little more oil and lemon juice and scatter with Parmesan shavings.

Tomato and Feta Tart

From: Veggie Feasts
My favo(u)rite thing that I've made in a long time, and potentially so far for this blog.

Ingredients:

• 350 g (11 1/2 oz) puff pastry, defrosted if frozen
• plain flour, for dusting
• 3 TBSP Pesto
• 250 g (8 oz) baby plum tomatoes, halved
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 TBSP freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• handful of basil leaves
• salt and black pepper

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7
2) Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to form a rectangle 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inches).







3) Using a sharp knife, score a 2.5cm (1 inch) border around the edges.








4) Transfer to a baking sheet.









5) Spread the pesto over the pastry.








6) Arrange the tomatoes, feta, and Parmesan over the tart.
7) Season with salt and pepper.








8) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden.
9) Remove and add the basil leaves.