Savoury beer pancakes with wild mushrooms and bacon

Beer pancakes with wild mushrooms and bacon

I am always surprised when I read people saying on their blogs that they only eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Why limit yourself to just once a year? Pancakes are a staple breakfast food in Russia, especially at the weekends. My guys love pancakes, and every Sunday is a pancake day in our family. They prefer the sweet varieties, topped up with sliced bananas, berries and cream. I love mine with honey or maple syrup. Savoury pancakes are also fabulous. Beer is one of the ingredients which adds a definite lightness and a savoury note to the pancakes.

Beer pancakes (makes 6)
Ingredients:
2 medium eggs
150ml beer
100g self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
butter, for frying

for the filling:
1tsp olive oil
100g cubed bacon
100g wild mushrooms
1tbsp maple syrup
1tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
100g mozzarella, cubed

Beat the eggs with the beer and flour, add a pinch of salt. The batter should be smooth. Pour a ladleful of batter into the buttered hot frying pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. There's enough batter to make 6 pancakes.

Beer pancakes

Chop the bacon lardons into cubes, fry them in the frying pan with a bit of olive oil. After 3-4 inutes of add the chopped wild mushrooms and a tablespoon of maple syrup, as well as some fresh thyme. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat and add the cubed mozzarella. Divide the filling between the pancakes and fold each pancake in half.

Wild mushrooms + Mushrooms with bacon and mozzarella

Drizzle more maple syrup if you like. The sweetness of the syrup works well with the salty savoury flavours of the bacon and mushrooms.

I have been asked by Clarks Maple Syrup to come up with a recipe for Clarks Pancake Challenge. Well, I am definitely in the maple syrup camp. As much as I love lemons in cooking, for me classic pancakes with lemon juice and sugar are just too boring plain. If I fancy a simple version, I would opt for maple syrup, or honey. Or do it the Russian way, with the soured cream and sprinkled sugar.

For more pancake recipes and cooking inspiration, visit Clarks recipes page.

If you're in the pancakes-once-a-year group, make sure you cook the best ones. And don't worry about the flipping bit. In fact, I have read that it's only the rubbery pancakes which flip easily. You cannot flip a large thin crepe or Italian lacy crespelle without tearing it.
Whichever recipe you choose, have fun with your pancakes and stack them high!

Disclosure: I received a bottle of maple syrup and a subsidiary fee for buying the ingredients. All opinions are mine.

If you liked this recipe, you might be interested in the following recipes:
Pancakes for Findus
and
Ricotta pancakes