Gluten Free: Chive Pancakes

While the traditional lemon and sugar topping for a pancake is certainly a wonderful thing (why do we wait for Shrove Tuesday to eat pancakes? We really should eat them more often.), I’m also a big fan of the savoury pancake. Back in my pre-Coeliac days, I used to work around the corner from a brilliant crepe van. This van served the most amazing crepes, filled with just about anything you could think of. A good lunch for me was a chilli and cheese crepe, followed by a Nutella, banana and whipped cream crepe (followed by the least productive afternoon’s work ever). 

I first made this pancake to eat with crispy duck, and I'd highly recommend you give that a go, but the gentle chive flavour lends itself to a whole world of fillings. The Rarebit filling I've given you is just a suggestion (and a seriously quick and easy one at that), the aforementioned chilli and cheese would also be an excellent choice. Do let me know what your filling of choice would be, let’s share the pancake-y love, shall we?

Chive Pancakes (makes 6 pancakes)
You’ll need:

• 100g brown rice flour (or Doves Farm Rice Flour for a lighter pancake)
• a large pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 125ml milk
• a heaped tbsp chopped chives
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil, to cook

Make it!

1. Put the rice flour and salt in a bowl and mix.
2. Add the eggs and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
3. Still whisking, add the milk.
4. Add the chives and keep on with that whisking until everything is smooth and well mixed.
5. Leave the mixture for at least 30 minutes to let the flour absorb some of the liquid.
6. After resting, heat a little oil in a frying pan (or a crepe pan, if you have one). I use an omelette pan to make mine.
7. Pour in just enough pancake batter to cover the base of the pan. Swirl the pan to make sure you’ve got good coverage.
8. When the edges of the pancake start to crisp up and the pancake comes away easily from the pan, it’s time to flip it. I’m of the fish slice persuasion when it comes to flipping - I don’t trust myself not to chuck the pancake across the kitchen!
9. Add some of your filling over the surface of the pancake to let it heat through while the second side cooks. (See the recipe below for my suggestion.)
10. When the second side is golden brown and your filling is hot, fold the pancake over and serve

Welsh Rarebit Filling (enough for 6 pancakes)
You’ll need:

• 200g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 egg
• 1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard (check the label, some mustard contains wheat flour)
• a generous dash of Henderson’s Relish (or gluten free Worcestershire Sauce)
• a good grinding of black pepper

Make it!

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. That's it! Now just add a couple of heaped tablespoons to the pancake at step 9 of the recipe.