For the Scotch Pancakes

This recipe makes about 14 pancakes, so a good amount for brunch with a few left over for tea later that day.

These can be kept warm in the oven before serving.

120g self-raising flour
small pinch salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 pint milk

1. First grease your griddle/frying pan, use an oil as butter will burn, and then put on the hob to heat.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the pinch of salt, and then tip in the sugar.

3. Crack the egg into the milk (best not to try doing this into the bottle), and whisk.

4. Pour the egg and milk liquid into the dry ingredients, and mix to form a smooth batter.

5. Test that the girdle is hot enough by putting a teaspoon of batter onto it. You should have a small pancake cooked in less than a minute.

6. For the main-event pancakes, use a tablespoon to drop the batter onto the girdle. I used the back of the spoon to form the dollops into more aesthetic rounds. (If the batter gets too thick, give it a mix with the spoon to loosen it up a bit)

7. Keep a beady eye on the batter. When the surface has become covered in bubbles, 2 – 3 minutes, get ready to flip it over using a palette knife or plastic flipper.

Don’t worry if the underside isn’t as coloured as you would like it to be, you can always turn the pancake over for an extra griddling.

For the bacon and apples

6 rashers back bacon (smoked or unsmoked is fine, but the thicker the better)
1 English apple (I like an apple with a bit of bite, like a Russet) cored and sliced 2-3 cm thick
Butter for frying

In a heavy bottom frying pan melt the butter until it starts to foam slightly.

Place the bacon in the frying pan and allow to colour slightly. Push the sides of the bacon down, to allow the fat to render out. Add the apple slices and then turn the bacon. Turn the apples and check the bacon is brown on both sides. The apple should be soft and almost falling apart.

Serve hot on top of the Scotch pancakes. My wife likes this drizzled with maple syrup, however, I like it a little more savoury, so a dollop of fruity brown sauce on the side is my style.

As autumn trundles along and winter’s icy fingers pull us further in, the kitchen is the best place to be. The heat of the hob and oven mingled with the warmth of loved ones and friends mean now is the time to get in there and cook.

This time of year we see some of the UK’s best produce on show. With game in season and seafood in its prime, now is the time to try out something a little different, particularly as they go so well with all the lovely root vegetables that are out now.

Scallops with a celeriac mash or pheasant with root veg crisps are great combos. Also now is the time to start thinking about what to eat at Christmas will it be goose or turkey, maybe roast beef? Which, until Charles Dickens Christmas Carol, was they thing to eat at the Yule table. Smaller birds like duck and pheasant make great alternatives if there are less of you.

Be it sausage and mash with a cracking onion gravy, beef in Guinness stew or a spicy, warming vegetable curry with a Dhal, the choice is yours. With the nights getting dark and cold, now is when we want comfort food the most.

Party season is nearly here and we must think of that. Will it be a sit down meal, or lots of buffet style bits to enjoy? Something more interesting than “chips n dips” like homemade sausage rolls and filo pastry parcels.

The recipe below is a great brunch idea that will set you up for a hard days Christmas shopping or warm you up for a winter walk. It uses two of Britain’s best products, bacon and apples, which are still abundant at farmers markets. Remember to buy British apples, as these have less air miles and, more importantly, much more flavour.

Enjoy and get cooking!

Seasonal Recipe

For the Scotch Pancakes

This recipe makes about 14 pancakes, so a good amount for brunch with a few left over for tea later that day.

These can be kept warm in the oven before serving.

120g self-raising flour
small pinch salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 pint milk

1. First grease your griddle/frying pan, use an oil as butter will burn, and then put on the hob to heat.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the pinch of salt, and then tip in the sugar.

3. Crack the egg into the milk (best not to try doing this into the bottle), and whisk.

4. Pour the egg and milk liquid into the dry ingredients, and mix to form a smooth batter.

5. Test that the girdle is hot enough by putting a teaspoon of batter onto it. You should have a small pancake cooked in less than a minute.

6. For the main-event pancakes, use a tablespoon to drop the batter onto the girdle. I used the back of the spoon to form the dollops into more aesthetic rounds. (If the batter gets too thick, give it a mix with the spoon to loosen it up a bit)

7. Keep a beady eye on the batter. When the surface has become covered in bubbles, 2 – 3 minutes, get ready to flip it over using a palette knife or plastic flipper.

Don’t worry if the underside isn’t as coloured as you would like it to be, you can always turn the pancake over for an extra griddling.

For the bacon and apples

6 rashers back bacon (smoked or unsmoked is fine, but the thicker the better)
1 English apple (I like an apple with a bit of bite, like a Russet) cored and sliced 2-3 cm thick
Butter for frying

In a heavy bottom frying pan melt the butter until it starts to foam slightly.

Place the bacon in the frying pan and allow to colour slightly. Push the sides of the bacon down, to allow the fat to render out. Add the apple slices and then turn the bacon. Turn the apples and check the bacon is brown on both sides. The apple should be soft and almost falling apart.

Serve hot on top of the Scotch pancakes. My wife likes this drizzled with maple syrup, however, I like it a little more savoury, so a dollop of fruity brown sauce on the side is my style.