Pancakes with Roast Tomatoes, Spinach & Ricotta Recipe

Ingredients

150g plain flour
300ml skimmed milk
2 eggs
250g cherry vine tomatoes
A handful of thyme, leaves only
2 garlic cloves
1 chilli
1 lemon
200g baby leaf spinach
125g ricotta

Prep: 15 mins + resting | Cook: 45 mins

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Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt. Pour 300ml milk into a measuring jug, crack in the eggs and beat together. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the flour till you have a smooth, thick batter. Pour back into the jug and set aside to rest for 30 mins.

2. Pop the cherry vine tomatoes into an ovenproof dish. Pick the thyme leaves. Add most of the thyme to the tomatoes (keep a pinch back for garnishing) with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then roast for 12-15 mins. They will be a little charred and bursting.

3. While the tomatoes roast, peel and finely chop the garlic. Halve the chilli and scoop out the white pith (or leave them in for extra heat) and finely chop the chilli. Finely zest the lemon.

4. Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add a splash of olive oil and the garlic, chilli and most of the lemon zest (keep a pinch for garnishing). Sizzle for 30 secs, then add the baby leaf spinach. Fry, stirring, for 1-2 mins to just wilt the leaves. Take off the heat, season, then scoop out into a dish.

5. Move the tomatoes down to a lower shelf in the oven and slide the spinach in alongside them. Turn the oven down to 140°C/Fan 120°C/Gas 1. Put a heatproof plate in the oven.

6. Wipe the frying pan and put it back on a mediumhigh heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and swirl to coat the base, then tip any excess oil out into a mug. Add 75-100ml batter to the pan and swirl to coat the base. Fry for 2-3 mins, using a spatula to loosen the edges.

7. Gently shake the pan to make sure the pancake is loose, then flip it over with a spatula. Fry for a further 1-2 mins till browned underneath. Slide the pancake onto the heatproof plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter till you’ve used up all the batter. You should have 6-10 pancakes, depending on your pan size and how thick you make your pancakes.

8. Stack the pancakes up on warm plates. Top with the spinach and roast tomatoes, then the ricotta. Top with thyme leaves and lemon zest, and serve with wedges of lemon on the side for squeezing.

9. Plan Ahead
You can make your pancake batter the night before and store it in the fridge in a sealed container. Give it a quick whisk before transferring to your measuring jug, ready to cook.